Talk about a Flip Flop

Guess who said this:

"It is demeaning to the nation that within the [current] administration, a core of the elite who never grew up, never did anything real, never sacrificed, never suffered and never learned, should have the power to fund with your earnings their dubious and self-serving schemes."

Nope, Kerry has too much class to say something like that, it was, Bob Dole in his nomination acceptance speech of 1996.

Apparently it is OK to demean the nation with an administration who has a core of elite who never did anything 'real' . . . . . when it is YOUR guy!

Simply amazing.

Flash

Consumer Confidence

No wonder the RNC is on their 'Fear Tour 2004', they are hoping people won't care about anything else. Unfortunately, they underestimate the intelect of the electorate!

From Rassmussen:

The Rasmussen Consumer Index fell four points on Tuesday to its lowest level since the last day in May--109.0. The Index, which measures the economic confidence of American consumers on a daily basis, is down eight points from a week ago and down nine points from a month ago

Ya want more:

The Rasmussen Investor Index fell another five and a half points on Tuesday to 130.7.  It has now fallen fourteen points over the last three days to its lowest level since May 30. The Investor Index is is down three points from a week ago, down six from a month ago, and down one from three months ago.

The Bush Economy, we've just turned the corner, but now we have run out of road!

Flash

Boomerang

From MSNBC:

Pollster John Zogby's survey of battleground states taken last week as the Swift Boat controversy raged shows no fundamental change in the race. "It's running its course, and it may boomerang," he says of the attack on Kerry's heroism. The fact that the sleeper network has gone nuclear is evidence of Bush's weakness, not his strength, says Zogby. "If [the Bush team] weren't seeing serious damage, they wouldn't be hitting so hard so early. The president is on the ropes; there's no other way of looking at it."

Historically, negative campaigning works, but that may not be the case this year. Kerry has taken the high road, BushCo has taken the only road they can. The alternative is talking about the issues, and the last four years. Neither of which would keep him in the White House.

Flash

The Bush Economy

From CNN:

1.3 Million more people living in poverty, 1.4 million uninsured.

Now that the Smear Boat Liars have been totally discredited, can we start debating the real issues.

Flash

More Debunking the Swifties

Seems that the Right was drawn into a firefight the will have a hard time escaping from. As the Smear campaign of the Right continues to get discredited, they cling on false hope and thin evidence. These SBVAK even make shit up.

It is amazing how they will ignore first hand accounts and documented evidence in favor of single anecdotes by their own, who continue to change their story. The story of Steve Gardner, the only member of the group who actually served under Kerry, is full of contradictions.

Best site I found out there that puts it all together is Swift Boat Veterans for "Truth" v. The Truth". If you are truly objective, you will see which side has the most credibility, if not, nothing is going to change your mind anyway!

Be sure to read Fecke's take, he is always worth a read!

Flash

Beaching the Swift Boats

The Swift Boat Vets for Bush continue to bash Kerry, even though they have been discredited to the point of being a non entity.

Atrios posted this nugget from the Strib this AM.

A couple morsels:

Nearly all of Kerry's Vietnam crewmates, no matter their politics, have stepped up to defend him as a courageous leader. And now several newspapers have examined two sets of information: Vietnam War documents, and data showing funding and other ties between the newly formed veterans' group and GOP operatives close to President Bush and his political adviser, Karl Rove.

-Snip-

To give you a flavor of the group's inconsistencies: In 1996, Lonsdale spoke of the bravado and courage of Swift boat officers: "Senator Kerry was no exception. He was among the finest of those Swift boat drivers." Yet in this year's TV ad, Lonsdale said Kerry "lacks the capacity to lead." Veteran George Elliott says in the ad that Kerry "has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam." Yet Elliott wrote the Silver Star nomination for Kerry in 1969. In an official report he wrote: "In a combat environment often requiring independent, decisive action Lt. j.g. Kerry was unsurpassed. ..."

As the Righties continue to implode on themselves, Kerry will gain ground and leave them in the dust. BushCo. is in a rut right now, and only the RNC convention will be able to assist in the hemorrhaging. Not a good time to be a Republican, well, for those that are objective, anyway. The apologists simply have know objectivity left, and will pound this story until a few days after everyone else has moved along, and they will find themselves only talking to each other!

Flash

Accumulating Chronological Experience

44 years young yesterday. Qwest gave me a wonderful Birthday gift, a failing modem. Internet was down all day for me as my modem was being very quirky. I do have to hand it to Qwest, they were pretty quick about diagnosing and agreeing to send out a new modem pronto. As you can see, I am back up and running.

Thanks to 'The Doctor' for showing me a good time at the Rock Bottom. It was the tapping of the Saison, which is an excellent (and strong) hop filled ale without the hoppy finish. I highly recommend it. Brewer Todd always gives a little spiel to introduce his latest concoction, and at the end, had the whole bar make a toast to me for my birthday. At the end of the evening, when I received my bill, all that was on it was my Dinner entree. I told Brenden that non of my beers and other beverages were on the bill. He said

" Flash, it's your birthday, they're all on the comp tab"

What a guy!

Anywho, good times were had by all. Now I have two days of E-Mail and a sidebar to catch up on.

Flash

PS: Happy Birthday Mom! I know at least one year what you were doing on your birthday, recovering from my birth *grin* Thanks Mom!!

Breaking Ranks

From CNN:

Retiring GOP congressman Doug Bereuter (R-Nebraska), is no calling the war against Iraq 'a mistake' and he even questions whether the intelligence gaff was a failure, or an intentional deception.

In a 4 page letter to his constituents, he wrote:

"I've reached the conclusion, retrospectively, now that the inadequate intelligence and faulty conclusions are being revealed, that all things being considered, it was a mistake to launch that military action, especially without a broad and engaged international coalition,"

Even more damning, is the following accusation:

"Left unresolved for now is whether intelligence was intentionally misconstrued to justify military action,"

WOW! Now this guy is retiring. He is no longer pining for votes, and can now speak from his heart regarding his frustration with this administration.

I am hoping to find the complete text of the letter, and will update this post with a link if I do.

Flash

The Daily Show

Tonight, on The Daily Show (10:00PM Central, Comedy Central) Jon Stewart will have as his guest the consummate Flip Flopper. Once a Democrat, now a Republican attack dog, Sen. Norm Coleman will trade barbs with Stewart in what could be an interesting showdown.

Be sure to watch this lovefest!

Flash

Sidebar Changes

I've added another Electoral College site to the sidebar. Electoral Vote Predictor has a great interface that allows for you to simply mouse over states for the latest polling results. Much easier and smoother to use when analyzing the current electoral breakdowns.

All three Electoral college polls are tied at 327 Kerry and 211 Bush. All three use similar, but not identical criteria when awarding states to either camp. The Blogging Caesar is an admitted Right leaner who is still holding out hope for a GOP convention bounce that will whittle away at Kerry's almost insurmountable lead. We'll see what happens when polling is released post Labor Day.

Also, the MN DFL is now represented in my Lefty Loosies links. Some local flavor to the blogroll.

Flash

Up Nort' on da Range

I am traveling to Northern Minnesota this weekend. Meeting up with a friend in Buhl, MN and then touring the Soudan Underground mine and then ending the weekend on the North shore of Lake Superior at the beautiful Gooseberry Falls state park. It should be a blast.

While I'm gone, here are some educational links for you:

Christmas in Cambodia: What the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush have come up with, is a story, A story that can't be verified or confirmed, and they know it. It was brilliant, well, until you look at the details of the story, and realize it isn't even plausible. Kerry may have made it up too, but his story is at least possible. Read the breakdown here.

Also, probably the most balanced article I found on the Kerry -vs- Swift Boat Vets for Bush. You can find it here:

I also appreciated this OpEd from Jim Rassmann, who found out what a true leader John Kerry is on March 13, 1969, My favorite:

"Nobody asked me to join John's campaign. Why would they? I am a Republican, and for more than 30 years I have largely voted for Republicans. I volunteered for his campaign because I have seen John Kerry in the worst of conditions. I know his character. I've witnessed his bravery and leadership under fire. And I truly know he will be a great commander in chief"

Sensitivity: The Right is hyping on a single word, dissected from the complete quote, and twisting the full meaning of the statement. It is a common tactic, like the 'voted for the war funding, before voting against it] tripe. See, these things don’t play well to those with any common sense at all. Kerry supported the bill when it was being funded, and when the funding was eliminated in favor of more deficit spending, Kerry took the high ground, and voted against the bill, knowing it had more then enough support to pass. Rather courageous for a man on the verge of a presidential election campaign.

But what of his statement regarding a 'sensitive' War. Lets compare two quotes, complete quotes, within their context.

Kerry Said last week "I believe I can fight a more effective, more thoughtful, more strategic, more proactive, more sensitive war on terror that reaches out to other nations and brings them to our side."

Bush said, when christening the USS Ronald Reagan in March 2001 "Precisely because America is powerful, we must be sensitive about expressing our power and influence. Our goal is to patiently build the momentum of freedom, not create resentment for America itself. We pursue our goals; we will listen to others; we want strong friends to join us, not weak neighbors to dominate. In all our dealings with other nations, we will display the modesty of true confidence and strength."

This is easier then shooting fish in a barrel, so I'll give the Right a chance to regroup over the weekend, and see what else they make upcome up with.

Till Tuesday . . .

Flash

Swift Boat Veterans for Anything but the Truth

Fecke has done a nice job of pointing out the realities being tossed around in the Right Wing playground over at 'Shoot from the Hip'

Bottom line, it is a non issue, issue. And I'll say it again, if the Right wants to keep bringing up Kerry's heroic service record, forcing one to compare it to GW's lack there of . . . . BRING IT ON!!

Flash

Kasota Stoned

The major bungles be the administration were once again highlighted by their inability to organize a simple campaign stop. No wonder the country is struggling. If George can't even handle a simple Stump stop.

My Aunt lives just moments away from the Mankato rock quarry that was the stop of the GOP the other day. What were the locals saying:

You should see what a mess it is on Highway 5 ? the highway is now a 3 lane - driving on the shoulder - solid cars, people are leaving their cars at Jones Sheet Metal and on Kingswood and walking. We walked down there to see the chaos and I told this old guy it was at least a 2 mile hike, and its hot out. Lots of PO'd people. The exit ramps from 14 and 169 are all backed up too. Another great planning job by SMC and Mankato?s finest.

==

there was another message that a fiber cut in Faribault has caused massive halt to all long distance calls in the area......the Kasota Quarry was a really stupid place to have a rally.........windy two lane road and no place to park.

==

they turned some people away who had tickets and wore Kerry t-shirts.!
There were some upset people last night when I left work, they walked 3 miles or drove to the Quarry and if they got there after 4;15, they were turned away! And the protesters gave them a hard time all the way back! One sign said "Kerry wouldn]t turn you away!" I thought it was hilarious. There were 2 women on the news this morning who took off work to get tickets, then took the afternoon off to go, and were turned away. I hope a lot of the people were swing voters.

That's from the trenches. Looks like ole GW probably lost more votes then he gained!

Keep up the good work, you are our greatest asset!

Flash

That was then

"The economy is getting stronger" GW Bush

This is now

The Labor Department reported businesses added 32,000 jobs in July, a fraction of the more than 200,000 that many economists expected, and the weakest showing so far this year.

"The president keeps saying we've turned the corner," Kerry said. "But unfortunately, today's job numbers further demonstrate that our economy may be taking a U-turn instead. Saying we've turned the corner doesn't make it so. America will not turn the corner to better days until we have a new president who can see our problems and take action to fix them."

Simple math . . . .

Flash

The Pulse of America

I spent most of my time in battleground areas. Granted, my first destination was New York State, but it was South Central, almost Pennsylvania.

My travels took me east on 94, driving through Chi-Town (we went right through downtown on the Skyline, no 294 by-pass necessary). Once through the big city, and into Gary IN we hooked up with I-90 that would take us all the way through Cleveland, and into Erie, before ducking onto I-86 for the final approach into Binghamton, NY.

The first thing that really stuck out, was the amount of law enforcement. It seemed every turn-around, rest area, or weight station had a squad car in it. I can appreciate how financially depressed these areas are, but this seemed pretty extreme way of generating revenue. I am a common traveler through these parts, but have never seen the Wisconsin roads saturated like this.

I was more surprised by the lack of bumper stickers on the road. If both sides claim to have energized their bases, I am not sure what they are using as a gauge. The only bumper sticker I saw all weekend was a 'Kerry:Edwards' and it was on a North Dakota (red state) vehicle. Maybe that says enough right there.

My only political conversation with a local, was Friday evening. He was a Pennsylvania resident in town for the 'Empire State Games' a high school athletic Olympics. His son was on one of the rowing teams. I sensed sincere dissatisfaction with the current administration. It appeared he was a conservative, who probably voted for Bush in 2000, but It sounded to me like there was no love loss there. The discussion began with me bagging the high tax environment we were in. Gas over $2.00/gallon, smokes almost $5.00 a pack. (he said they just passed another increase, and smokes would be jumping another 50 cents). I revealed my political leaning in the spirit of full disclosure. That is where he admitted his frustration.

The economy is much higher on the priority lists of voters in these distressed areas. GW continues to say it will get better, or it is improving, but that is clearly not the case. Monster tax cuts to the rich don't stimulate the economy. It just gives them more monopoly money to play with in the stock market. The bump in the economy we saw a few months ago was the result of seasonal tax refund spending, and the numbers have now settled back into their mundane state. This Pennsylvania citizen not only shared the job loss of some friends, but stressed the insecurity of his own employment status. He all but told me that Bush would be a very hard sell for him this year.

We returned through Cleveland again, stopping at the Rock Bottom Brewery in the West Flats right near downtown. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon, and we were the only ones in the place. Now, granted, that is not the busiest time of day for a brew pub and restaurant, but still not a very good sign of a robust economy, especially in the crucial battleground of Ohio.

Continuing on to Flint, MI, where we were picking up some family heirlooms from my in-laws, we had just got the word that the Kerry:Edwards campaign had pulled out of their stop there. The strong support, and delays related to the Grip and Grin at these grass roots whistles stops required them to modify their schedule.

Flint has not been an economic hotbed, even under the robust Clinton economy of the 90s, for quite sometime. They had their boom years, as an automotive town, but those days are long gone. Although my wife, who spent her whole life in Flint until moving to the Twin Cities, states 'Roger and Me' is not the best look at life in Flint, she admits that it is a pretty good snapshot.

I was able to take this photo of a small business displaying their support for the next president. Seems they are looking forward to change here as well.



The return trip was uneventful. We made great progress while flying through the windy city in record time. It took us about 9 hours (including a couple grab and go gas stops) to navigate the Interstates between Flint and St. Paul. I tend to use the +9 rule with my cruise control. In Michigan, with a speed limit of 70, meant 79 on the cruise, everywhere else was posted 65.

I tend to be a little more leery of my speed in Wisconsin, especially with the show of force witnessed on the way out. I've never received a ticket on the Interstate, but I hear Wisconsin Smokies can be pretty anal. I eased off at their favorite hiding places, rest stops, weight stations, entrance ramps. There weren't as many of them on the way back, but a strong presence nonetheless. I risked it, with cruise at +9, and not a single one of them even budged. I thought that was kind of strange, especially since it was about midnight at this time, and then I noticed why. The cars were empty. There must have been a half dozen of them that were just sitting in the emergency vehicle turnarounds, the spot that divides most major Interstates. Maybe their budgets have been butchered to the point that they can't man their vehicles anymore, and now they are doing the best they can, using the 'scarecrow' philosophy.

I look forward to my next journey, when the economy is truly rebounding, the distressed lands are recovering, the country is no longer cowering, and John Kerry, is President of the Untied States.

Flash

Thanks Mom

In this AM's PiPress:

Mayor Kelly has announced that he is supporting George Bush because he saw a bumper sticker that said, "I hate Bush!" I have a question for him — since many Republicans not only have a Coleman bumper sticker, but also one that says: "Wellstone's dead. Get over it," can we assume Kelly will now support Norm Coleman's opponent?

JEAN SCHIEBEL
Brooklyn Center


What is it with the St. Paul Mayor's office that forces them to sell out after they use the DFL banner to get elected.

Flash

The Eagle has Landed

Got back early this AM. I have some interesting tidbits to share, but debriefing Mrs. Flash takes priority.

Today will be hectic, but I hope to post later today, or tomorrow AM. I definitely have some interesting observations to share.

More later!

Flash