October 30, 2004

A Public Service for the Undecided Voter

Hi there! Gosh, I bet your brain is hurting right now. I know mine is! There's just too much information out there to let the average person make an informed decision. For instance: Why do we need to even think about the issues? Let's take the "Deficit" for example. Who cares? When I was seven, I visited the U.S. Mint in Washington, D.C. Why don't they just print up some more money?!?!? Then, presto! Not only would there be no more silly deficit, but the government could give us another $400 tax refund so we can send our kids to college or at least buy a decent color TV.

Yes, instead of the issues, we should be discussing which candidate we'd rather have a beer with (non-alcoholic, of course!). Now, a lot of people say they'd rather party with a war hero. And the liberals, well, they're telling us George W. Bush ain't no war hero. In fact, that fat fatty Michael Moore claims "W" was A.W.O.L. for a year. Well, I don't know about you, but George sure looks like a war hero to me.
Top Gun
Then there's the other guy from Taxachussetts ("LOL" as the kids say in their chatting rooms!). As far as I know, he's been lying about being a war hero. I mean didn't he shoot himself in the foot in order to leave Vietnam and sleep with Jane Fonda (even though part of him wanted to stay so he could go on raping innocent Vietnamese women and children)?kerryandfonda

I think what confuses me the most though is figuring out which guy would better protect us. Sure Bush was president during the greatest security failure in the history of the United States, but he sure acted awfully presidential after those Towers came down on September 14th (yes, I know they came down on 9/11 but on 9/14 I thought Bush really rocked Ground Zero and made us all proud to be under his command). If Kerry had been president, who knows? He probably would have treated the whole thing as a "nuisance" and left the country to go to France and take a global test. God, I hate tests!!!

However, those of you who know me know that I loves the video clips -- they're so much fun! Just click and watch!!! And they're so much easier to understand then newspapers and magazines 'cause videos tell you how to think and feel. So, as a publice service to you, the undecided voter, I've found two clips* (which you can click on and watch!!!) that for me definitively demonstrate who will make the bestest president.

*Disclaimer: The first clip was created by the Republican guy from Die Hard 2 and the second by the fat commie.
Bull and BallsStrength and Calm

Okay, did you watch the clips? Weren't they fun?!? So, what did we learn? I'll tell you: The first clip showed us that thanks to his training as a cheerleader,Bush LeagueGeorge W. Bush was totally prepared to save our country and as a result he became the greatest president since Jesus. Also, because he wouldn't take any crap from pretty boy Derek Jeter, Bush became the first pitcher in history to throw a perfect game in the World Series.

The second clip is even more revealing: Even though the tub o'lard would like us to think it shows a very weak, scared and confused George Bush, I, like the President himself, beg to differ. When President Bush sat on Dick Cheney's knee in the Oval Office (where he keeps Saddam's pistol!), he told the 9/11 commission that "his instinct was to project calm, not to have the country see an excited reaction at the moment of crisis." This quote is from the actual 9/11 Report so you know it's true. As a matter of fact, it documents this fact twice -- on the same page and in the same paragraph! I quote: "The President felt he should project strength and calm until he could better understand what was happening." (note: Some people might assume that he never really understood what was happening because we never saw his "excited reaction" -- but I think that's just a bunch of partisan nitpicking hooey.)

This clip also backfires for another reason: I believe fatso wanted to portray George W. Bush as a dummy, but HA! -- the joke's on tubby! This clip proves Bush can read. And not just a magazine...he's reading along with the children using an actual book!

I think the choice is painfully clear. Seriously, who would you rather have as our President? The guy who can read on a first grade level, work a bullhorn and throw a baseball while wearing a bullet-proof vest? Or the guy "who voted for the $87 billion before he voted against it?" (HaHaHaHeeHeeHee -- I'm telling you, that line cracks me up every single time I hear it)

So, on November 2nd do the right thing and vote for the strong, calm guy. He deserves it. After all, he promised to get the evildoer responsible for 9/11, dead or alive, and he did it! The world is now so much safer without Saddam Hussein, doncha think? Oh, and when you vote, try not to think about the bodies underneath the flags...

banned
Peace,

Krup

October 29, 2004

Bruuuuuce!

john&bruce
Transcript of Bruce Springsteen's Introduction of the Next President of the United States, John Kerry (Madison, WI/10.28.04)
As a songwriter, I've written about America for thirty years. Tryin' to write about who we are, what we stand for, what we fight for. And I believe that these essential ideas of American identity are what's at stake on November 2nd.

I think the human principles of economic justice -- just healing the sick, health care, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, a living wage so folks don't have to break their backs and still not make ends meet, the protection of our environment, a sane and responsible foreign policy, civil rights and the protection and safeguarding of our precious democracy here at home -- I believe that Senator Kerry honors these ideals. He has lived our history over the past fifty years. He has an informed and adult view of America and its people. He's had the life experience, and I think he understands that we as humans are not infallible. And as Senator Edwards said during the Democratic convention, that struggle and heartbreak will always be with us. And that's why we need each other. That's why "united we stand" -- that's why "one nation indivisible" -- aren't just slogans, but they need to remain guiding principles of our public policy. And he's shown starting as a young man, that by facing America's hard truths, both the good and the bad, that that's where we find a deeper patriotism. That's where we find a more complete view of who we are. That's where we find a more authentic experience as citizens. And that's where we find the power that is embedded only in truth, to make our world a better and a safer place.

Paul Wellstone, the great Minnesota senator -- he said the future is for the passionate, and those that are willing to fight and to work hard for it. Well the future is now, and it's time to let your passions loose.

So let's roll up our sleeves. That's why I'm here today, to stand alongside Senator Kerry and to tell you that the country we carry in our hearts is waiting. And together we can move America towards her deepest ideals. And besides, we had a sax player in the [White] House -- we need a guitar player in the White House.
Alright -- this is for John. This is for you, John.

No Retreat, No Surrender

We busted out of class had to get away from those fools
We learned more from a three-minute record than we ever learned in school
Tonight I heart the neighborhood drummer sound
I can feel my heart begin to pound
You say you’re tired and you just want to close your eyes and follow your dreams down

We made a promise we swore we’d always remember
No retreat, believe me, no surrender
Like soldiers in the winter’s night with a vow to defend
No retreat, believe me, no surrender

Now young faces grow sad and old and hearts of fire grow cold
We swore blood brothers against the wind
I’m ready to grow young again
And hear your sister’s voice calling us home across the open yards
Believin’ we could cut someplace of our own
With these drums and these guitars

We made a promise we swore we’d always remember
No retreat, believe me, no surrender
Blood brothers in the stormy night with a vow to defend
No retreat, believe me, no surrender

Now on the street tonight the lights grow dim
The walls of my room are closing in
But it’s good to see your smiling face and to hear your voice again
We could sleep in the twilight by the river side
With a wide open country in our hearts
And these romantic dreams in our heads

We made a promise...


To Watch and Sing-a-Long, Click The Pic
madison

How Did It Come To This?

how? What We Know asks the tough question and puts together a final rallying cry/video as an answer. Muse (a band who should be desperately in search of it's own identity) provides the music...

Whatever It Takes?

The gloves are off. If the Republicans can do this...
army clones

(from Salon'sWar Room)
On CNN today, BC'04 copped to the Photoshopping of the troops in its new ad and blamed the blunder -- of course -- on some clueless underling. (According to CNN, the Bush camp says it was the handiwork of a renegade editor at the firm to which the ad job was outsourced. But didn't they already fire that guy for going off on his own to tack up the "Mission Accomplished" banner?)

Kerry spokesman Joe Lockhart has issued a statement demanding that BC'04 pull the ad: "Now we know why this ad is named ‘Whatever it Takes.’ This administration has always had a problem telling the truth from Iraq to jobs to health care. The Bush campaign’s advertising has been consistently dishonest in what they say. But today, it’s been exposed for being dishonest about what we see.

If they won’t tell the truth in an ad, they won’t tell the truth about anything else. This doctored commercial is fundamentally dishonest and insults the intelligence of the American people. The Bush campaign has no choice but to take this ad down immediately and issue an apology for its latest attempt to mislead the American people. Unless George Bush has changed its position on human cloning, it’s got to pull this fundamentally dishonest ad immediately."
...then we can scare people into thinking God's gonna take away their cute little kitties.
kitty


(thinks to Ninja Bob for the kitten jpg)

Good Doggie!

A lot of people on the right complain that because of a "liberal" media bias, we are never shown any good news about Iraq. Well, that's because there isn't any. But that doesn't mean there isn't any good news at all in the world. For instance, check out this amazing dog, Faith:
faith
RICHLAND, Washington (AP) -- Leana Beasley has faith that a dog is man's best friend. Faith, a 4-year-old Rottweiler, phoned 911 when Beasley fell out of her wheelchair and barked urgently into the receiver until a dispatcher sent help. Then the service dog unlocked the front door for the police officer.

"I sensed there was a problem on the other end of the 911 call," said dispatcher Jenny Buchanan. "The dog was too persistent in barking directly into the phone receiver. I knew she was trying to tell me something."

Faith is trained to summon help by pushing a speed-dial button on the phone with her nose after taking the receiver off the hook, said her owner, Beasley, 45, who suffers grand mal seizures.

Guided by experts at the Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound, Beasley helped train Faith herself.

The day of the fall, Faith "had been acting very clingy, wanting to be touching me all day long," Beasley said Thursday.

The dog, whose sensitive nose can detect changes in Beasley's body chemistry, is trained to alert her owner to impending seizures.

But that wasn't what was happening on September 7, and Faith apparently wasn't sure how to communicate the problem. During Beasley's three-week hospital stay, doctors determined her liver was not properly processing her seizure medication.
If you don't own a dog, you should get one. I'm just sayin'...

October 28, 2004

"Me Likey War...

...as long as I don't have to serve."*
Democrats:
* Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
* David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
* Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
* Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
* Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.
* Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
* John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, Purple Hearts.
* Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
* Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam.
* Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-53.
* Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
* Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
* Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII; Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
* Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze Stars, and Soldier's Medal.
* Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star and Legion of Merit.
* Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
* Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; Bronze Star with Combat V.
* Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
* Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
* Chuck Robb: Vietnam
* Howell Heflin: Silver Star
* George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
* Bill Clinton: Did not serve. Student deferments. Entered draft but received #311.
* Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
* Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
* John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and Air Medal with 18 Clusters.
* Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul Wallenberg.

Republicans:

* Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the last by marriage.
* Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
* Tom Delay: did not serve.
* Roy Blunt: did not serve.
* Bill Frist: did not serve.
* Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
* Rick Santorum: did not serve.
* Trent Lott: did not serve.
* John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
* Jeb Bush: did not serve.
* Karl Rove: did not serve.
* Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." The man who attacked Max Cleland's patriotism.
* Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
* Vin Weber: did not serve.
* Richard Perle: did not serve.
* Douglas Feith: did not serve.
* Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
* Richard Shelby: did not serve.
* Jon Kyl: did not serve.
* Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
* Christopher Cox: did not serve.
* Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
* Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as flight instructor.
* George W. Bush: failed to complete his six-year National Guard; got assigned to Alabama so he could campaign for family friend running for U.S. Senate; failed to show up for required medical exam, disappeared from duty.
* Ronald Reagan: due to poor eyesight, served in a non-combat role making movies.
* B-1 Bob Dornan: Consciously enlisted after fighting was over in Korea.
* Phil Gramm: did not serve.
* John McCain: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
* Dana Rohrabacher: did not serve.
* John M. McHugh: did not serve.
* JC Watts: did not serve.
* Jack Kemp: did not serve. "Knee problem," although continued in NFL for 8 years.
* Dan Quayle: Journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard.
* Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
* George Pataki: did not serve.
* Spencer Abraham: did not serve.
* John Engler: did not serve.
* Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
* Arnold Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base.

Pundits & Preachers
* Sean Hannity: did not serve.
* Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (4-F with a 'pilonidal cyst.')
* Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
* Michael Savage: did not serve.
* George Will: did not serve.
* Chris Matthews: did not serve.
* Paul Gigot: did not serve.
* Bill Bennett: did not serve.
* Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
* John Wayne: did not serve.
* Bill Kristol: did not serve.
* Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
* Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
* Clarence Thomas: did not serve.
* Ralph Reed: did not serve.
* Michael Medved: did not serve.
* Charlie Daniels: did not serve.
* Ted Nugent: did not serve. (He only shoots at things that don't shoot back.)
(list courtesy of Sen. Howard W. Carroll)

*I've received this e-mail a number of times and I've hesitated to post it. Why? Well, being a conscientious objector myself, I don't see anything wrong with not wanting to fight in a war you don't believe in. So, I didn't want to cast aspersions on anyone out there who has avoided war for truly valid reasons. However, it's now obvious to me that most of the men above who did not serve are not against war at all (and probably never were). If they were so against war, they probably should have moved to a neutral country, like Sweden**, and stayed there forever instead of helping to send our soldiers into an uneccessary quagmire.
** In the Oval Office in December 2002, the president met with a few ranking senators and members of the House, both Republicans and Democrats. In those days, there were high hopes that the United States-sponsored "road map" for the Israelis and Palestinians would be a pathway to peace, and the discussion that wintry day was, in part, about countries providing peacekeeping forces in the region. The problem, everyone agreed, was that a number of European countries, like France and Germany, had armies that were not trusted by either the Israelis or Palestinians. One congressman - the Hungarian-born Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California and the only Holocaust survivor in Congress - mentioned that the Scandinavian countries were viewed more positively. Lantos went on to describe for the president how the Swedish Army might be an ideal candidate to anchor a small peacekeeping force on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Sweden has a well-trained force of about 25,000. The president looked at him appraisingly, several people in the room recall.

"I don't know why you're talking about Sweden," Bush said. "They're the neutral one. They don't have an army."

Lantos paused, a little shocked, and offered a gentlemanly reply: "Mr. President, you may have thought that I said Switzerland. They're the ones that are historically neutral, without an army." Then Lantos mentioned, in a gracious aside, that the Swiss do have a tough national guard to protect the country in the event of invasion.

Bush held to his view. "No, no, it's Sweden that has no army."

The room went silent, until someone changed the subject.

 A few weeks later, members of Congress and their spouses gathered with administration officials and other dignitaries for the White House Christmas party. The president saw Lantos and grabbed him by the shoulder. "You were right," he said, with bonhomie. "Sweden does have an army."
(sigh)

Meanwhile...

...after shredding a bunch of American flags, Dick Cheney puts his hand back in Bush's ass and let's everyone know he's got things under control.
dick

The Fratboy-In-Chief


finger

Go on: Click the picture and watch the man who told the world yesterday, "For a political candidate to jump to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as your commander in chief."

Here's what jumping to conclusions has yielded:
Deaths of Iraqis have soared by 100,000 since the start of the Iraq war and many of the victims have been women and children, public health experts from the United States said on Thursday.

Add those deaths to the 1,251 coalition soldiers who have been killed (including 905 U.S. military deaths since Fratboy said "Bring 'em On") and the 7,532 who have been wounded in action, and I'd say we've successfully shown the world what war is all about.

Meanwhile, Rudy "I Am The God of 9/11" Guiliani demonstrates his support of our troops. (Thanks to Atrios)

Update: General Wesley Clarke responds:
“For President Bush to send Rudolph Giuliani out on television to say that the 'actual responsibility' for the failure to secure explosives lies with the troops is insulting and cowardly.

“The President approved the mission and the priorities. Civilian leaders tell military leaders what to do. The military follows those orders and gets the job done. This was a failure of civilian leadership, first in not telling the troops to secure explosives and other dangerous materials, and second for not providing sufficient troops and sufficient equipment for troops to do the job.

“President Bush sent our troops to war without sufficient body armor, without a sound plan and without sufficient forces to accomplish the mission. Our troops are performing a difficult mission with skill, bravery and determination. They deserve a commander in chief who supports them and understands that the buck stops in the Oval Office, not one who gets weak knees and shifts blame for his mistakes.”
Go Wesley Go! Think he'll get a Cabinet position?

It's Called Momentum

First the Patriots beat the Jets. Next, the Red Sox take 8 games in-a-row to win the World Series. And then their GM had this to say:
"This is such an emotional lift for people in New England and all over the world," Boston general manager Theo Epstein said "I hope they enjoy it. I hope they do something good with it. I hope they go vote Tuesday and make the world a better place."
Go here to read more about the youngest GM in baseball history. epstein President Kerry should make Epstein his Secretary of O.B.P.

And for you non-sports fans out there, here's some non-superstitious momentum:
Democratic Sen. John Kerry gained some ground on President Bush among swing voters in the last month, with several citing the presidential debates as a factor in their shift, according to a poll released Wednesday. The number of swing voters in that group either committed or leaning toward Kerry was 40 percent, up from 28 percent in September. The number either committed or leaning toward Bush was 38 percent, compared to 34 percent in September.
I'd say it's in the bag unless those Rovian f*#kers steal the damn thing again...

October 27, 2004

This Is What Makes America Great

we decide Go here, feel proud (but not jingoistically proud) and donate if you can.

Our October Surprise?

Eminem, of all people, has pre-released a scathing anti-Bush song called "Mosh." You can hear it here. Sample rap: "Imagine it pouring, it's raining down on us/ Mosh pits outside the oval office/ Someone's trying to tell us something, maybe this is God just saying/ We're responsible for this monster, this coward, that we have empowered ... Let the President answer on high anarchy/ Strap him with AK-47, let him go/ Fight his own war, let him impress daddy that way ... Look in his eyes, it's all lies, the stars and stripes/ They've been swiped, washed out and wiped ... If they should argue, let us beg to differ, as we set aside our differences, and assemble our own army, to disarm this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president."

Here's Salon's review:
...it's a brutal, unflinching obliteration of President Bush and his Iraq war. It could also turn out to be the most important protest song written this year -- and I've listened to a lot of them this election season. However impressive the lineup of the Vote for Change concerts, with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and REM, at this point Eminem sells more records and reaches more ears than any of them. And while I have no facts on this, I'd suspect that Eminem has a larger Republican audience than any other artist who has taken such a strong stand against Bush, save maybe the Dixie Chicks.

It also helps that "Mosh" is so articulate, persuasive and powerful in its criticisms of Bush -- although I wouldn't expect any less from one of the greatest storytellers in popular music. "Mosh" moves at a slower tempo than most of Eminem's songs, which was not necessarily a great decision musically -- he's more thrilling in quicksilver mode, spitting out rhymes faster than most of us can think -- but it ensures that every damning word is heard, and heard clearly. This is not a particularly pleasant song to listen to: There's nothing catchy about it, and the beat is a clanging, leaden monstrosity made for marching, not dancing. But Eminem is clearly not out to entertain here, and this song, with its ominous monotony, allows him to do what he does best: pure, seething anger.

I felt the same way about the music not being that catchy until I watched the video: Wow...
Mosh


More: In the new Rolling Stone, Mr. Shady has this to say:
President Bush is "like a dog chasing its tail," the Hollywood-bound Eminem tells the magazine, set to street during the first week of November.

RS: You get deep into your feelings about President Bush and Iraq on “Mosh.” Do you think the Iraq War was a mistake?

E: He’s been painted to be this hero and he’s got our troops over there dying for no reason. I haven’t heard an explanation yet that I can understand. Explain to us why we have troops over there dying.

RS: There is no good answer.

E: I think he started a mess. America is the best country there is, the best country to live in. But he’s f**kin’ that up and could run our country into the ground. He jumped the gun, and he f**ked up so bad he doesn’t know what to do right now. He’s in a tailspin, running around like a dog chasing its tail. And we got young people over there dyin’, kids in their teens, early twenties that should have futures ahead of them. And for what? It seems like a Vietnam 2. Bin Laden attacked us and we attacked Saddam. We ain’t heard from Saddam for ten years, but we go attack Saddam. Explain why that is. Give us some answers.

RS: Are you voting?

E: This is the first year I’ve registered to vote. And I’m gonna vote. Bush is definitely not my homie, but I’m still undecided. Kerry has been known to say some things that’s caught my attention, made a few statements I’ve liked, but I don’t know. Whatever my decision is, I would like to see Bush out of office. I don’t wanna see my little brother get drafted. He just turned eighteen. I don’t want to see him lose his life. People think their votes don’t count, but people need to get out and vote. Every motherf**kin’ vote counts.

So who the hell is he going to vote for? Lyndon LaRouche?

I've always been on the fence about Eminem but I've never been able to deny the fact that he truly has verbal skills (I won't embarrass myself and spell "skills" with a "z"). I'm definitely looking forward to his performance this Saturday on SNL. Wonder if he'll actually sing?* (I know, I know: He doesn't sing, he raps. I just needed a way to seque to the "gifted and talented" Ashlee Simpson**). If you live under a rock, watch the clip so you'll know what the following open letter to Lorne Michaels is all about...

Dear Lorne:

Believe it or not, I've been watching SNL since the very first show on October 11, 1975. Over the years, I've seen your show die a thousand deaths only to rise back up, if not exactly like a Phoenix from the ashes, at least like a certain Black Knight with a flesh wound.

While the comedy has not always been great, the show has at least had the good taste to book some amazing musical guests. A few come to mind: Neil Young, The Pretenders, Elvis Costello, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Prince, U2. What do all of those acts have in common? Yes, you guessed it Lorne: They are all actual musicians who actually play instruments and sing with their own voices.

So, now that the world has all witnessed the debacle that we shall call Ashlee "I don't lip synch. My God, I'm very anti-that" Simpson, I believe you should institute a strict policy for your "Live" show: "If you can't sing, if you can't play, you don't perform on myyyyyy shoooow."

Thank you Lorne.


*Update (10/31/04): Eminem's vocals on SNL last night appeared to be suspiciously "multi-tracked"; it didn't feel very live to me. Ironic since the show took the effort to make, not one, but two potshots at Simpson.

**I really don't mean to pick on young Ashlee. I'm sure she's a nice girl and all. I actually blame her father for exploiting her so blatantly and foisting her lack of talent on the general public.

"Fame, (fame) puts you there where things are hollow"

Well, as World O' Crap correctly predicted after I was "discovered" by Wonkette ("The good news is that he will probably be the new Washingtonienne, and be showered with fame, book deals, and Playboy spreads."), the offers have been pouring in. Wonkette's link to "I'm Just Sayin'" has put us over 250,000 hits in less than two months and according to BlogShares we're now worth $9,448.61. Well, I'm not ready to sell. But I'm more than ready to sell-out. So I went with the best offer out there (scroll down to see):












go take a shower
I'm even thinking of taking a job with Lie Girls.

On a less disturbing but still troubling-to-me note: The increased traffic has put a heavy burden on my WebHost. Apparently I caused the disruption of a number of sites who use the same server as I do. As a result, my Host is squeezing me for more money (to be honest, he's been more than reasonable). I'm not sure I can afford to go with a dedicated server or even increase the amount of bandwidth I currently have. So, my question to all of you out there in BlogLand is: Can anyone recommend a good, solid yet cheap WebHost? Thanks. And now back to our regular progam...

And No, It's Not Just About Voting Against Bush

I like John Kerry. Some people think you need to love him in order to vote for him. But I'm fine with like. Loving your President always struck me as a bit odd (not unlike my Mom wanting me to send her Valentines Day cards...okay, that's just plain creepy).

I believe John Kerry is a good man. He's a true patriot who fought for his country when he could have easily ducked his responsibility to spend a couple of lost years boozing around Texas. And when Kerry realized that his country was wrong, he fought back and helped end a senseless, wrong-headed war.

Bush (well, Rove) likes to talk about John Kerry's lack of a Senate record (because, obviously, Bush's record as illustrated in the post below is just too embarrassing to trumpet). Here's just some of the amazing things John Kerry did during his Senate career:
In early 1986 Kerry's office was contacted by a Vietnam vet who alleged that the support network for the CIA-backed Nicaraguan contras (who were fighting against the socialist Sandinistas in power) was linked to drug traffickers. Kerry doubted that the Reagan Administration, obsessed with supporting the contras, would investigate such charges. He pushed for a Senate inquiry and a year later, as chairman of a Foreign Relations subcommittee, obtained approval to conduct a probe.

It was not an easy ride. Reagan Justice Department officials sought to discredit and stymie his investigation. Republicans dismissed it. One anti-Kerry effort used falsified affidavits to make it seem his staff had bribed witnesses. The Democratic staff of the Senate Iran/contra committee--which showed little interest in the contra drug connection--often refused to cooperate. "They were fighting us tooth and nail," recalls Jack Blum, one of Kerry's investigators. "We had the White House and the CIA against us on one side and our colleagues in the Senate on the other. But Kerry told us, 'Keep going.' He didn't let this stuff faze him."

Kerry's inquiry widened to look at Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas, Honduras and Panama. In 1989 he released a report that slammed the Reagan Administration for neglecting or undermining anti-drug efforts in order to pursue other foreign policy objectives. It noted that the government in the 1970s and '80s had "turned a blind eye" to the corruption and drug dealing of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who had done various favors for Washington (including assisting the contras). The report concluded that "individuals who provided support for the contras were involved in drug trafficking...and elements of the contras themselves knowingly received financial and material assistance from drug traffickers." And, it added, US government agencies--meaning the CIA and the State Department--had known this.

This was a rather explosive finding, but the Kerry report did not provoke much uproar in the media, and the Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill did little to support Kerry and keep the matter alive. His critics derided him as a conspiracy buff. Yet a decade later the CIA inspector general released a pair of reports that acknowledged that the agency had worked with suspected drug smugglers to support the contras. Kerry had been right.

After the contra investigation, Kerry next turned to a far more sensitive target: a bank connected to a prominent Democratic Party fundraiser. During their investigation of Noriega, Kerry's staff discovered that the Bank of Credit and Commerce International had facilitated Noriega's drug trafficking and money laundering. This led to an inquiry into BCCI, a worldwide but murky institution more or less controlled by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. BCCI was a massive criminal enterprise, although this was not yet publicly known. It had engaged in rampant fraud and money laundering (to help out, among others, drug dealers, terrorists and arms traffickers) around the world. Its tentacles ran everywhere. Its political connections reached around the globe. Jimmy Carter and Henry Kissinger both became involved in the scandal. When banking regulators finally shut down BCCI in 1991, an estimated 250,000 creditors and depositors from forty countries were out billions of dollars.
(snip)
While Kerry was in the middle of the BCCI muck, Senate majority leader George Mitchell asked him to assume another difficult task: investigate the unaccounted-for Vietnam POWs and MIAs. For years so-called POW advocates, like billionaire Ross Perot, had claimed American GIs were still being held in Vietnam, and the highly charged POW/MIA issue was the main roadblock to normalizing relations. Working closely with Senator John McCain, a Republican who had been a POW, Kerry got the Pentagon to declassify 1 million pages of records. His committee chased after rumors of American soldiers being held. He took fourteen trips to Vietnam. This was a hard mission: How could his committee say there were absolutely no POWs still captive in Vietnam? Yet anything less could keep the POW controversy alive.
(snip)
Investigations were not the only notable moments in Kerry's Senate career. On September 10, 1996, as he was in a tight re-election contest against William Weld, the popular Republican governor of Massachusetts, Kerry voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, which would deny federal benefits to same-sex couples and permit states to not recognize same-sex marriages conducted in other states. He was one of only fourteen senators to oppose the measure. Several leading Senate liberals--including Paul Wellstone, Tom Harkin and Pat Leahy--had voted for it.
(snip)
The following year, a re-elected Kerry was in another lonely position as one of only five original sponsors of the Clean Money, Clean Elections Act, to provide for full public financing of Congressional elections. The measure would remove practically all special-interest money from House and Senate campaigns.
(from What's Right With Kerry by David Corn)

Throughout his Senate career, our next President has been an ardent supporter of abortion rights, environmental protection, campaign reform and a forward-thinking foreign policy. From Corn: "He was a leader in the battle against Bush's tax cuts for the rich. He voted against the antigay Defense of Marriage Act. He has advocated boosting the minimum wage."

These are all values I can live with. John Kerry is a man who I will like very much as President.

Plus, what he says...

October 26, 2004

George and Barbara Must Be So Proud

MY ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT
by George W. Bush*

1. I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.
http://moneyinsider.msn.com/content/Taxes/P49070.asp
http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/economy/
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=580&ncid=580&e=2&u=/nm/20030819/bs_nm/economy_usa_budget_dc
http://www.cato.org/dailys/07-31-03.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/956768/posts
http://www.dailykos.com/archives/003024.html#003024
http://www.costofwar.com/
http://www.hillnews.com/op_ed/050603.aspx
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2747153.stm

2. I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0723-03.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-01-23-budget-deficit-_x.htm
http://www.unemployedfordean.org/blogs/econ/articles/Bad_debtP.shtml
http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2003/02/04/budget/index_np.html
http://www.ffis.org/misc/sum.htm
http://cbsnewyork.com/finance/finance_story_051093926.html
http://truthout.org/docs_03/080303D.shtml
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0716/p01s01-usec.htmll
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/tx11_edwards/sp_030523_taxcut.html
http://www.progressivedailynews.com/Opinion/Jay_Shaft/americans_wake_up.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0713-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0110-06.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1016-01.htm
http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/economy/
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=580&ncid=580&e=2&u=/nm/20030819/bs_nm/economy_usa_budget_dc
http://www.cato.org/dailys/07-31-03.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/956768/posts
http://www.dailykos.com/archives/003024.html#003024
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/22/politics/main555108.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/28/opinion/polls/main551360.shtml

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A63417-2003Mar31Found=true
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0827-04.htm

3. I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0313-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0224-09.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0921-03.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0817-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0807-02.htm
http://demsonline.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1769
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/business/6564571.htm
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/jan2003/pens-j29.shtml
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10717-2003Aug18.html
http://www.msnbc.com/news/954221.asp?0cv=CB10
http://www.managementconsultancy.co.uk/News/1132570

4. I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0224-09.htm
http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzwall0101,0,4793065.story?coll=ny-business-headlines
http://money.cnn.com/2003/06/23/markets/markets_newyork/
http://www.namibian.com.na/2001/September/marketplace/011427D815.html
http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0828-01.htm
http://slate.msn.com/default.aspx?id=2071929
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0715/p01s03-usec.html
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0714-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0906-07.htm
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec02/corporate.html
http://www.aarp.org/press/2002/nr121702.html
http://www.dccc.org/press/mustreads/2002-07-22.507.html
http://www.democrats.org/specialreports/picturethis/

5. I am the first president in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/lazarus/20001104.html
http://www.talion.com/georgebush.html
http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/summaries/reader/0,1854,264969,00.html
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/nov2000/bush-n04.shtml
http://alcoholism.about.com/library/weekly/aa001103a.htm?once=true&
http://www.realchange.org/bushjr.htm#cocaine
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/3835
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bushdui1.html

6. I set the the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one year period.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A15546-2003Aug2?language=printer
http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/000923.html
http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20031001.html

7. After taking-off the entire month of August 2001, I then presided over the worst security failure in U.S. history.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-04.htm
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/6269252.h

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/128832_sept1130.html

8. I attacked and overtook two countries, promised to rebuild them and have not yet done so.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2759789.stm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1109-05.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0619-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1127-03.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1206-07.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0323-05.htm
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/afghanistan/
http://www.careusa.org/newsroom/specialreports/afghanistan/
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/rebuilding_iraq/index.asp
http://money.cnn.com/2003/08/26/news/economy/iraq_effect/index.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/07/18/sprj.nitop.report/
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03792r.pdf
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/World/iraq030827_reconstruction.html
http://www.commondreams.org/news2003/0812-09.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0702-05.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0502-10.htm

9. I am supporting development of a "Tactical Bunker Buster" nuke, a WMD.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0125-01.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/1015-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/news2003/0501-06.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0507-08.htm
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO112C.html
http://www.progressive.org/0801issue/mill0801.html
http://www.ddh.nl/pipermail/wereldcrisis/2002-March/002777.html
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/012703B.us.nuke.htm
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/nuclear-doctrine-02j.html
http://www.montanaforum.com/rednews/2003/04/24/build/safety/nuke-thermo.php?nnn=2
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0311-05.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0203-05.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0119-05.htm
http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories2003/state/20030811030501.shtml

10. I am getting our troops killed, under the lie of WMD components, then blaming the lie on our British friends and the CIA, where, coincidentally, my daddy used to lead.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0422-03.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0625-13.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0105-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0801-06.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0511-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0617-09.htm
http://www.progressivedailynews.com/Opinion/Jay_Shaft/americans_wake_up.htm
http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/war/index.html
http://billmon.org.v.sabren.com/archives/000172.html
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030723-064812-9491r
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A23777-2003Jul7Found=true
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F10F8385F0C768EDDAF0894DB404482
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A61622-2003Jul15Found=true
http://byrd.senate.gov/byrd_speeches/byrd_speeches_2003may/byrd_speeches_2003may_list/byrd_speeches_2003may_list_0.htm
http://www.iht.com/articles/86720.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/83625.html
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/06/09.html

11. I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S. president.
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/bush/bushfin.html
http://vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2003/08/63364.php

12. In my first year in office over 2-million Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues every month, leaving us in higher than ever unemployment.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0224-09.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0828-01.htm
http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/economy/
http://www.business-standard.com/archives/2003/jan/50310103.016.asp
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/28/opinion/polls/main551360.shtml
http://money.cnn.com/2003/04/24/news/economy/jobless/,
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70D11F73D5F0C758CDDAB0894DB404482
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/10/business/10CND_ECON.html?ex=1061611200&en=409998e0a35767d9&ei=5070
http://www.quinnell.us/politics/2000/bush.html#business
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0807-02.htm
http://www.democrats.org/specialreports/picturethis/
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=584&ncid=584&e=15&u=/nm/20030819/pl_nm/economy_bush_dc
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20610F73B5E0C708CDDAE0894DB404482
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aWVItCXQxFQk&refer=news_index
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030325-115542-9620r
http://netscape5.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?siteid=netscape&dist=netscape&guid=%7B6CD8FBE3-A836-436A-961F-59CC270A7459%7D

13. I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0807-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1014-03.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1014-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0814-08.htm
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/09/11/Columns/Record_foreclosures_r.shtml
http://www.realtor.org/rmoDaily.nsf/AllStories/071603#D654E8269
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/032903/bus_1427413.shtml
http://www.nahrep.org/Real_Voices/Home_Foreclosures_Hitting_Reco/home_foreclosures_hitting_reco.html
http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/929194.asp
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2003/03/24/daily6.html
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/a-list/2002-November/021871.html
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/011103/bus_1249382.shtml
http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0603/91941.html
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3873.htm

14. I appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any president in U.S. history.
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1203-05.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0809-07.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A10810-2003Jul31Found=true
http://www.warblogging.com/tia/poindexter.php
http://reclaimdemocracy.org/articles_2003/lettertowashpost_poindexter.html
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1123-04.htm
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_03.htm
http://www.zpub.com/un/wanted-hkiss.html
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0611-03.htm
http://www.globalpolicy.org/intljustice/wanted/2002/1204kis.htm
http://thunderbay.indymedia.org/news/2002/12/2331.php
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1201-01.htm
http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/104/perle.htm
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/reuters20030327_722.html

15. I set the record for least amount of press conferences than any president since the advent of television.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2086431/
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0731-07.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0517-03.htm
http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2003/08/20030801_a_main.asp

16. I signed more laws and executive orders effectively amending or ignoring the Constitution than any president in history.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/orders/
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/eo/
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-358es.html

17. I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0514-06.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0726-03.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0202-08.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0522-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0613-01.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0424-07.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0716-01.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37482-2003Aug23.html
http://www.sfgate.com/energy/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/blackout/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/specials/energy/
http://www.powertothepeople.org/,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1972574.stm
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/01/29/power.woes.01/

18. I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history and refused to use national reserves as past presidents have done.
http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/from_redirect/0,10987,1101030317-430852,00.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44771-2003Aug25.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/08/25/financial1815EDT0286.DTL
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-08-24-gas-prices_x.htm
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/argus/index.ssf?/base/news/106193351768080.xml
http://www.observer-reporter.com/27398776349450.bsp
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1059479308700
http://www.citizen.org/hot_issues/issue.cfm?ID=628
http://www.commondreams.org/news2003/0826-02.htm

19. I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families -- in war time.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0407-10.htm
http://www.thecarolinachannel.com/helenthomas/1873884/detail.html
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0328-11.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0326-10.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/news2003/0313-06.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0810-02.htm
http://www.house.gov/budget_democrats/congressional_budgets/fy2004/vetscuts_may2103.pdf
http://www.dasbistro.com/pipermail/clarkgreen/2003-March/001096.html
http://www.futurenet.org/26courage/indicatorsmith.htm
http://www.townonline.com/braintree/news/opinion/bra_edibfschiavone04022003.htm
http://www.pva.org/NEWPVASITE/newsroom/PR2003/pr03018.htm
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/965662/posts
http://todaysseniorsnetwork.com/legion_blasts_congress.htm
http://utah.indymedia.org/news/2003/05/5087.php
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/Veterans_up_in_arms_042403.htm

20. I allowed non-compete oil contracts to go to my VP's company (where he is still employed, but on "deferred compensation") and won't answer to anyone about it.
http://biz.yahoo.com/n/h/hal.html
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/03/08/26_banana.html
http://www.guerrillanews.com/sci-tech/doc2685.html
http://www.forbes.com/home_europe/newswire/2003/08/14/rtr1057815.html
http://www.motherjones.com/news/dailymojo/2003/34/we_529_02b.html
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30712F83F550C7B8CDDA10894DB404482
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~1567851,00.html
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=15492
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/2044946
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=15477
http://www.corpwatch.org/news/PND.jsp?articleid=8128
http://www.thewpbfchannel.com/helenthomas/2420705/detail.html
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuhf/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=534017
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1015229,00.html
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/abs_news_body.asp?section=Opinion&oid=31297
http://money.cnn.com/2003/08/18/news/companies/halliburton/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56429-2003Aug27.html
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0308-05.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0323-11.htm

21. I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people) shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of humankind.
http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2003/02/18/story88661.asp
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0302/S00136.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/16/sprj.irq.us.un/
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=1070
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/01/18/sproject.irq.demos/
http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2003-03/21/article09.shtml
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/special/iraq/1830622
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/19/1045330641559.html
http://www.iacenter.org/o26_world-reprt.htm
http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/021903/usn_dissuadehim.shtml
http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2003/Bush-Antiwar-Protests19feb03.htm
http://www.rockcitynews.com/pages/antibushwar/protestsleft.html
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2003/03/30/54504-ap.html
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/2003/03/000404.html
http://www3.sympatico.ca/truegrowth/911antiwarprotests.html
http://www.arabia.com/newsfeed/article/english/0,14183,371960,00.html
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=1074
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=1031
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0301/S00167.htm
http://www.msnbc.com/news/888499.asp
http://www.thenation.com/thebeat/index.mhtml?bid=1&pid=404
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27d/013.html
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA55GM6CCD.html
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0213-08.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0320-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0322-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0224-06.htm

22. I've dissolved more international treaties than any president in U.S. history.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0329-01.htm
http://hnn.us/articles/1465.html
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0810-05.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0730-01.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0427-03.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/news2002/0715-04.htm
http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/rogue/index.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/july01/2001-07-27-bush-treaties-usat.htm
http://onenews.nzoom.com/onenews_detail/0,1227,34656-1-9,00.html
http://www.presentdanger.org/chronicle/index.html
http://www.unitedstatesgovernment.net/violatinginternationaltreaties.htm
http://people.ucsc.edu/~rlipsch/treaties.html
http://www.impeachbush.tv/impeach/treaties.html
http://www.robertscheer.com/1_natcolumn/01_columns/073101.htm
http://www.clw.org/control/bushunilateral.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,689142,00.html
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0722-01.htm

23. I've made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any in U.S. history.
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=941
http://nsarchive.chadwyck.com/igintro.htm
http://www.thewpbfchannel.com/helenthomas/2420705/detail.html

24. I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml%3Fi=20010625&s=scherer

25. I am the first president in U.S. history to have almost all 50 states of the Union simultaneously suffer massive financial crisis.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0430-02.htmhttp://www.dailykos.com/archives/003067.html#003067
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/6082865.htm
http://nydailynews.com/front/story/104404p-94461c.html
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60A15F6355B0C7B8EDDAE0894DB404482

26. I presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud of any market in any country in history.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0716FA3D550C718CDDAE0894DA404482
http://www.public-i.org/story_01_040400.htm#newsstories
http://www.public-i.org/download/harkenmemo.pdf
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/07/01/MN173709.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/06/29/national1048EDT0516.DTL
http://biz.yahoo.com/n/h/hal.html

27. I am the first president in U.S. history to order a pre-emptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so against the will of the United Nations and the world community.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0407-10.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1009-09.htm
http://www.islamonline.net/english/News/2003-03/20/article01.shtml
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0814-01.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0825-03.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1011-03.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1010-05.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0825-02.htm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0321/p05s01-woiq.html
http://www.afsc.org/tao/fa0204.htm

28. I created the largest governmental department bureaucracy in the history of the United States.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-04.htm

29. I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any president in history.
http://www.cato.org/dailys/07-31-03.html
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030630-121947-6635r.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/02/11/column.billpress/
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0129-01.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0315-09.htm

30. I am the first president in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0506-01.htm
http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/185/incb.shtml

31. I am the first president in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Elections Monitoring Board.

32. I removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight, than any presidential administration in U.S. history.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1009-09.htm
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=941

33. I rendered the entire United Nations viewpoints irrelevant.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0105-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0801-06.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0511-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0826-07.htm

34. I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0810-01.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0329-01.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0910-03.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0523-02.htm
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2003/07/02/125083-ap.html
http://hnn.us/articles/1465.html

35. I refused to allow inspectors access to U.S. "prisoners of war" (detainees) and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/91.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0305-09.htm
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engAMR510152002%3FOpenDocument%26amp;of%3DCOUNTRIES/USA
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/duggan2.html
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0117-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0808-07.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/news2002/0125-01.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0114-03.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0125-06.htm

36. I am the first president in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. election).

37. I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1109-05.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0313-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/101000-01.htm
http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PII.jsp?topicid=106
http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/corporate.cfm
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=9862
http://www.progressive.org/pc0900.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0427-04.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A3604-2002Oct9Found=true
http://www.quinnell.us/politics/2000/bush.html#campaign
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/2442,
http://www.tpj.org/pioneers/gov.html
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=584&ncid=584&e=15&u=/nm/20030819/pl_nm/economy_bush_dc
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-02.htm
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/rebuilding_iraq/index.asp

38. My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation) presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. history. My political party used the Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my 2000 election decision.
http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PII.jsp?topicid=106
http://www.progressive.org/pc0900.htm
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12155
http://www.counterpunch.org/tomenron.html
http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=21
http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_phillips.html
http://www.buzzflash.com/perspectives/2002/Bush_and_Enron.html
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,192920,00.html
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,409137,00.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/blackout/interviews/lay.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2119981.stm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0131-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0904-10.htm

39. I have spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in U.S. history.

40. I garnered the most sympathy for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most resented country in the world, possibly the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0903-12.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-04.htm
http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/rogue/index.html
http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/rogue/index.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0823-01.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0123-03.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1205-04.htm
"http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0901-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0303-07.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0126-01.htm
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2003/0213/vo2-1.html
http://www.cdi.org/polling/22-bush-international-opinion.cfm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,880724,00.html
http://www.jamaat-e-islami.org/pr/PR19032003A.html
http://www.progressive.org/aug03/zinn0803.html
http://www.gvnr.com/56/1.htm

41. I am actively working on a policy of "disengagement" creating the most hostile of Israel-Palestine relations in at least 30 years.

42. I am the first to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0907-04.htm
http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/rogue/index.html
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0904-08.htm

43. I am the first president in history to have the people of South Korea more threatened by the U.S. than by their immediate neighbor, North Korea.
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2002/feb/20/world/20020220wor2.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/article/0,2763,653304,00.html

44. I changed U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

45. I set an all-time record for the number of administration appointees who violated U.S. law by not selling their huge personal investments in corporations bidding for U.S. contracts.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0319-02.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/07/17/bush.cheney/
http://biz.yahoo.com/n/h/hal.html
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/6/24/80648.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_01/02.01E.Cheney.Hussein.htm
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=15492

46. I failed to fulfill my pledge to capture Osama Bin Laden, dead or alive.
http://www.osamaclock.com/

47. My family is very close with the Saudi Royal family, and have been for years, so I kept the pages out of the report on 9-11 that may put the Saudi's in a bad light.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/1211-05.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/1210-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0813-04.htm
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/6269252.h
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/05/eveningnews/main542868.shtml
"http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0904-07.htm

48. I failed to capture the anthrax killer who tried to murder the leaders of our country at the U.S. Capitol Building. I have no leads and no credible suspects.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2196008.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/anthrax/story/0,1520,742647,00.html
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/03/26/anthrax.investigation/?related
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0703-06.htm
http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/bulletin/eddesk.nsf/All/FC636D0C4FD99B4FCA256C0C001A1413
http://www.guardian.co.uk/anthrax/story/0,1520,591142,00.html
http://www.aim.org/publications/media_monitor/2003/01/21.html
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2002/hartfordcourant090702.html
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/US/anthrax030609_ross.html
http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/bulletin/eddesk.nsf/0/fc636d0c4fd99b4fca256c0c001a1413?OpenDocument
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1212-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0521-01.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0323-01.htm

49. Following the World Trade Center attack I have successfully prevented any PUBLIC investigation into the biggest security failure in the history of the United States.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-04.htm
http://thunderbay.indymedia.org/news/2002/12/2331.php
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F4091EFD39590C7A8CDDAE0894DB404482
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/05/eveningnews/main542868.shtml
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0516-09.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0603-06.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0725-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0717-10.htm
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/09.28B.fbi.agt.911.htm
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/may2002/sept-m01.shtml
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/warningmemo020516.html
http://www.bushoccupation.com/welcolumn.html
http://www.americanpolitics.com/20020517Outrage3.html
http://www.mikehersh.com/printer_Bush_and_Cheney_Block_911_Investigation_.shtml
http://www.projectcensored.org/publications/2003/4.html
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/sep2002/sept-s26.shtml
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0904-03.htm

50. I removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any president in U.S. history.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1009-09.htm
http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/ashcroft/index.html
http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/domestic/index.html
http://www.house.gov/frank/scprotester2003.html
http://www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB84/press.htm
http://www.aclu.org/safeandfree/
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030310-074202-1742r
http://www.quinnell.us/politics/2000/bushcrights.html#civil
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A17171-2003May20Found=true
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/05/21/MN34108.DTL
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0514-04.htm
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10B12FB355C0C7A8CDDAD0894DB404482
http://www.news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=295902003
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0311/hentoff.php
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/15/national/main536711.shtml
http://www.commondreams.org/news2003/0826-07.htm

51. In a little over two years, I created the most divided country in decades, possibly the most divided since the Civil War.
http://www.dailykos.com/archives/003094.html#003094

52. I entered my office with the strongest economy in U.S. history and have turned every single economic category downward -- all in less than two years.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0723-03.htm
http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/economy/index.html
"http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/03/national/03CENS.html?a>ex=1378008000&en=c2e4a16f7db383ec&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND

53. I was AWOL from the National Guard.
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030411.html
http://www.hereinreality.com/commander.html
http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/05/24/bushguard.cnn/index.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A59151-2000Jun25Found=true
http://users.cis.net/coldfeet/
http://users.cis.net/coldfeet/document.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0506-05.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0531-03.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-04.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0525-02.htm
http://www.talion.com/georgebush.html

(To be fair, he did hit the trifecta: Stupidity, Arrogance & Incompetence)

*I'm not sure who compiled this exhaustive list of ___________ (insert your choice of outraged nouns here). It was sent to me by a friend via e-mail. Congratulations to the compiler for having such massive amounts of free Google time.

And another friend sent me this (from The Nation):

100 Facts and 1 Opinion

The Non-Arguable Case Against the Bush Administration

by Judd Legum

Click here to download, circulate and distribute a PDF version of this article.

IRAQ

1. The Bush Administration has spent more than $140 billion on a war of choice in Iraq.

Source: American Progress

2. The Bush Administration sent troops into battle without adequate body armor or armored Humvees.

Sources: Fox News, The Boston Globe

3. The Bush Administration ignored estimates from Gen. Eric Shinseki that several hundred thousand troops would be required to secure Iraq.

Source: PBS

4. Vice President Cheney said Americans "will, in fact, be greeted as liberators" in Iraq.

Source: The Washington Post

5. During the Bush Administration's war in Iraq, more than 1,000 US troops have lost their lives and more than 7,000 have been injured.

Source: globalsecurity.org

6. In May 2003, President Bush landed on an aircraft carrier in a flight suit, stood under a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished," and triumphantly announced that major combat operations were over in Iraq. Asked if he had any regrets about the stunt, Bush said he would do it all over again.

Source: Yahoo News

7. Vice President Cheney said that Iraq was "the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault for many years, but most especially on 9/11." The bipartisan 9/11 Commission found that Iraq had no involvement in the 9/11 attacks and no collaborative operational relationship with Al Qaeda.

Source: MSNBC , 9-11 Commission

8. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said that high-strength aluminum tubes acquired by Iraq were "only really suited for nuclear weapons programs," warning "we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." The government's top nuclear scientists had told the Administration the tubes were "too narrow, too heavy, too long" to be of use in developing nuclear weapons and could be used for other purposes.

Source: New York Times

9. The Bush Administration has spent just $1.1 billion of the $18.4 billion Congress approved for Iraqi reconstruction.

Source: USA Today

10. According to the Administration's handpicked weapon's inspector, Charles Duelfer, there is "no evidence that Hussein had passed illicit weapons material to al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations, or had any intent to do so." After the release of the report, Bush continued to insist, "There was a risk--a real risk--that Saddam Hussein would pass weapons, or materials, or information to terrorist networks."

Sources: New York Times, White House news release

11. According to Duelfer, the UN inspections regime put an "economic strangle hold" on Hussein that prevented him from developing a WMD program for more than twelve years.

Source: Los Angeles Times

TERRORISM

12. After receiving a memo from the CIA in August 2001 titled "Bin Laden Determined to Attack America," President Bush continued his monthlong vacation.

Source: CNN.com

13. The Bush Administration failed to commit enough troops to capture Osama bin Laden when US forces had him cornered in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan in November 2001. Instead, they relied on local warlords.

Source: csmonitor.com

14. The Bush Administration secured less nuclear material from sites around the world vulnerable to terrorists in the two years after 9/11 than were secured in the two years before 9/11.

Source: nti.org

15. The Bush Administration underfunded Nunn-Lugar--the program intended to keep the former Soviet Union's nuclear legacy out of the hands of terrorists and rogue states--by $45.5 million.

Source: armscontrol.org

16. The Bush Administration has assigned five times as many agents to investigate Cuban embargo violations as it has to track Osama bin Laden's and Saddam Hussein's money.

Source: Associated Press

17. According to Congressional Research Service data, the Bush Administration has underfunded security at the nation's ports by more than $1 billion for fiscal year 2005.

Source: American Progress

18. The Bush Administration did not devote the resources necessary to prevent a resurgence in the production of poppies, the raw material used to create heroin, in Afghanistan--creating a potent new source of financing for terrorists.

Source: Pakistan Tribune

19. Vice President Cheney told voters that unless they elect George Bush in November, "we'll get hit again" by terrorists.

Source: Washington Post

20. Even though an Al Qaeda training manual suggests terrorists come to the United States and buy assault weapons, the Bush Administration did nothing to prevent the expiration of the ban.

Source: sfgate.com

21. Despite repeated calls for reinforcements, there are fewer experienced CIA agents assigned to the unit dealing with Osama bin Laden now than there were before 9/11.

Source: New York Times

22. Before 9/11, John Ashcroft proposed slashing counterterrorism funding by 23 percent.

Source: americanprogress.org

23. Between January 20, 2001, and September 10, 2001, the Bush Administration publicly mentioned Al Qaeda one time.

Source: commondreams.org

24. The Bush Administration granted the 9/11 Commission $3 million to investigate the September 11 attacks and $50 million to the commission that investigated the Columbia space shuttle crash.

Source: commondreams.org

25. More than three years after 9/11, just 5 percent of all cargo--including cargo transported on passenger planes--is screened.

Source: commondreams.org

NATIONAL SECURITY

26. During the Bush Administration, North Korea quadrupled its suspected nuclear arsenal from two to eight weapons.

Source: New York Times

27. The Bush Administration has openly opposed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, undermining nuclear nonproliferation efforts.

Source: commondreams.org

28. The Bush Administration has spent $7 billion this year--and plans to spend $10 billion next year--for a missile defense system that has never worked in a test that wasn't rigged.

Sources: www.gao.gov/new.items/d04409.pdf, Los Angeles Times

29. The Bush Administration underfunded the needs of the nation's first responders by $98 billion, according to a Council on Foreign Relations study.

Source: nationaldefensemagazine.org

CRONYISM AND CORRUPTION

30. The Bush Administration awarded a multibillion-dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton--a company that still pays Vice President Cheney hundreds of thousands of dollars in deferred compensation each year (Cheney also has Halliburton stock options). The company then repeatedly overcharged the military for services, accepted kickbacks from subcontractors and served troops dirty food.

Sources: The Washington Post, The Tapei Times, BBC News

31. The Bush Administration told Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan about plans to go to war with Iraq before telling Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Source: detnews.com

32. The Bush Administration relentlessly pushed an energy bill containing $23.5 billion in corporate tax breaks, much of which would have benefited major campaign contributors.

taxpayer.net, Washington Post

33. The Bush Administration paid Iraqi-exile and neocon darling Ahmad Chalabi $400,000 a month for intelligence, including fabricated claims about Iraqi WMD. It continued to pay him for months after discovering that he was providing inaccurate information.

Source: MSNBC

34. The Bush Administration installed as top officials more than 100 former lobbyists, attorneys or spokespeople for the industries they oversee.

Source: Source: commondreams.org

35. The Bush Administration let disgraced Enron CEO Ken Lay--a close friend of President Bush--help write its energy policy.

Source: MSNBC

36. Top Bush Administration officials accepted $127,600 in jewelry and other presents from the Saudi royal family in 2003, including diamond-and-sapphire jewelry valued at $95,500 for First Lady Laura Bush.

Source: Seattle Times

37. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge awarded lucrative contracts to several companies in which he is an investor, including Microsoft, GE, Sprint, Pfizer and Oracle.

Source: cq.com

38. President Bush used images of firefighters carrying flag-draped coffins through the rubble of the World Trade Center to score political points in a campaign advertisement.

Source: The Washington Post

THE ECONOMY

39. President Bush's top economic adviser, Greg Mankiw, said the outsourcing of American jobs abroad was "a plus for the economy in the long run."

Source: CBS News

40. The Bush Administration turned a $236 billion surplus into a $422 billion deficit.

Sources: Fortune, dfw.com

41. The Bush Administration implemented regulations that made millions of workers ineligible for overtime pay.

Source: epinet.org

42. The Bush Administration has crippled state budgets by underfunding federal mandates by $175 billion.

Source: cbpp.org

43. President Bush is the first President since Herbert Hoover to have a net loss of jobs--around 800,000--over a four-year term.

Source: The Guardian

44. The Bush Administration gave Accenture a multibillion-dollar border control contract even though the company moved its operations to Bermuda to avoid paying taxes.

Sources: The New York Times, cantonrep.com

45. In 2000, candidate George W. Bush said "the vast majority of my tax cuts go to the bottom end of the spectrum." He passed the tax cuts, but the top 20 percent of earners received 68 percent of the benefits.

Sources: cbpp.org, vote-smart.org

46. In 2000, candidate George W. Bush promised to pay down the national debt to a historically low level. As of September 30, the national debt stood at $7,379,052,696,330.32, a record high.

Sources: www.georgewbush.com , Bureau of the Public Debt

47. As major corporate scandals rocked the nation's economy, the Bush Administration reduced the enforcement of corporate tax law--conducting fewer audits, imposing fewer penalties, pursuing fewer prosecutions and making virtually no effort to prosecute corporate tax crimes.

Source: iht.com

48. The Bush Administration increased tax audits for the working poor.

Source: theolympian.com

49. In 2000, candidate George W. Bush promised to protect the Social Security surplus. As President, he spent all of it.

Sources: georgewbush.com, Congressional Budget Office

50. The Bush Administration proposed slashing funding for the largest federal public housing program, putting 2 million families in danger of losing their housing.

Source: San Francisco Examiner

51. The Bush Administration did nothing to prevent the minimum wage from falling to an inflation-adjusted fifty-year low.

Source: Los Angeles Times

EDUCATION

52. The Bush Administration underfunded the No Child Left Behind Act by $9.4 billion.

Source: nwitimes.com

53. In 2000, candidate George W. Bush promised to increase the maximum federal scholarship, or Pell Grant, by 50 percent. Instead, each year he has been in office he has frozen or cut the maximum scholarship amount.

Source: Source: edworkforce.house.gov x

54. The Bush Administration's Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, called the National Education Association--a union of teachers--a "terrorist organization."

Sources: CNN.com

HEALTHCARE

55. The Bush Administration, in violation of the law, refused to allow Medicare actuary Richard Foster to tell members of Congress the actual cost of their Medicare bill. Instead, they repeated a figure they knew was $100 billion too low.

Source: Washington Post, realcities.com

56. The nonpartisan GAO concluded the Bush Administration created illegal, covert propaganda--in the form of fake news reports--to promote its industry-backed Medicare bill.

Source: General Accounting Office

57. The Bush Administration stunted research that could lead to new treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, spinal injuries, heart disease and muscular dystrophy by placing severe restrictions on the use of federal dollars for embryonic stem-cell research.

Source: CBS News

58. The Bush Administration reinstated the "global gag rule," which requires foreign NGOs to withhold information about legal abortion services or lose US funds for family planning.

Source: healthsciences.columbia.edu

59. The Bush Administration authorized twenty companies that have been charged with fraud at the federal or state level to offer Medicare prescription drug cards to seniors.

Source: American Progress

60. The Bush Administration created a prescription drug card for Medicare that locks seniors into one card for up to a year but allows the corporations offering the cards to change their prices once a week.

Source: Washington Post

61. The Bush Administration blocked efforts to allow Medicare to negotiate cheaper prescription drug prices for seniors.
Source: American Progress

62. At the behest of the french fry industry, the Bush Administration USDA changed their definition of fresh vegetables to include frozen french fries.

Source: commondreams.org

63. In a case before the Supreme Court, the Bush Administrations sided with HMOs--arguing that patients shouldn't be allowed to sue HMOs when they are improperly denied treatment. With the Administration's help, the HMOs won.

Source: ABC News

64. The Bush Administration went to court to block lawsuits by patients who were injured by defective prescription drugs and medical devices.

Source: Washington Post

65. President Bush signed a Medicare law that allows companies that reduce healthcare benefits for retirees to receive substantial subsidies from the government.

Source: Bloomberg News

66. Since President Bush took office, more than 5 million people have lost their health insurance.

Source: CNN.com

67. The Bush Administration blocked a proposal to ban the use of arsenic-treated lumber in playground equipment, even though it conceded it posed a danger to children.

Source: Miami Herald

68. One day after President Bush bragged about his efforts to help seniors afford healthcare, the Administration announced the largest dollar increase of Medicare premiums in history.

Source: iht.com

69. The Bush Administration--at the behest of the tobacco industry--tried to water down a global treaty that aimed to help curb smoking.

Source: tobaccofreekids.org

70. The Bush Administration has spent $270 million on abstinence-only education programs even though there is no scientific evidence demonstrating that they are effective in dissuading teenagers from having sex or reducing the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

Source: salon.com

71. The Bush Administration slashed funding for programs that suggested ways, other than abstinence, to avoid sexually transmitted diseases.

Source: LA Weekly

ENVIRONMENT

72. The Bush Administration gutted clean-air standards for aging power plants, resulting in at least 20,000 premature deaths each year.

Source: cta.policy.net

73. The Bush Administration eliminated protections on more than 200 million acres of public lands.

Source: calwild.org

74. President Bush broke his promise to place limits on carbon dioxide emissions, an essential step in combating global warming.

Source: Washington Post

75. Days after 9/11, the Bush Administration told people living near Ground Zero that the air was safe--even though they knew it wasn't--subjecting hundreds of people to unnecessary, debilitating ailments.

Sierra Club , EPA

76. The Bush Administration created a massive tax loophole for SUVs--allowing, for example, the write-off of the entire cost of a new Hummer.

Source: Washington Post

77. The Bush Administration put former coal-industry big shots in the government and let them roll back safety regulations, putting miners at greater risk of black lung disease.

Source: New York Times

78. The Bush Administration said that even though the weed killer atrazine was seeping into water supplies--creating, among other bizarre creatures, hermaphroditic frogs--there was no reason to regulate it.

Source: Washington Post

79. The Bush Administration has proposed cutting the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency by $600 million next year.

Source: ems.org

80. President Bush broke his campaign promise to end the maintenance backlog at national parks. He has provided just 7 percent of the funds needed, according to National Park Service estimates.

Source: bushgreenwatch.org

RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES

81. Since 9/11, Attorney General John Ashcroft has detained 5,000 foreign nationals in antiterrorism sweeps; none have been convicted of a terrorist crime.

Source: hrwatch.org

82. The Bush Administration ignored pleas from the International Committee of the Red Cross to stop the abuse of prisoners in US custody.

Source: Wall Street Journal

83. In violation of international law, the Bush Administration hid prisoners from the Red Cross so the organization couldn't monitor their treatment.

Source: hrwatch.org

84. The Bush Administration, without ever charging him with a crime, arrested US citizen José Padilla at an airport in Chicago, held him on a naval brig in South Carolina for two years, denied him access to a lawyer and prohibited any contact with his friends and family.

Source: news.findlaw.com

85. President Bush's top legal adviser wrote a memo to the President advising him that he can legally authorize torture.

Source: news.findlaw.com

86. At the direction of Bush Administration officials, the FBI went door to door questioning people planning on protesting at the 2004 political conventions.

Source: New York Times

87. The Bush Administration refuses to support the creation of an independent commission to investigate the abuse of foreign prisoners in American custody. Instead, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld selected the members of a commission to review the conduct of his own department.

Source: humanrightsfirst.org

FLIP FLOPS

88. President Bush opposed the creation of the 9/11 Commission before he supported it, delaying an essential inquiry into one of the greatest intelligence failure in American history.

Source: americanprogressaction.org

89. President Bush said gay marriage was a state issue before he supported a constitutional amendment banning it.

Sources: CNN.com, White House

90. President Bush said he was committed to capturing Osama bin Laden "dead or alive" before he said, "I truly am not that concerned about him."

Source: americanprogressaction.org

91. President Bush said we had found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, before he admitted we hadn't found them.

Sources: White House, americanprogress.org

92. President Bush said, "You can't distinguish between Al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror," before he admitted Saddam had no role in 9/11.

Sources: White House, Washington Post

BIOGRAPHY

93. George Bush didn't come close to meeting his commitments to the National Guard. Records show he performed no service in a six-month period in 1972 and a three-month period in 1973.

Source: boston.com

94. In June 1990 George Bush violated federal securities law when he failed to inform the SEC that he had sold 200,000 shares of his company, Harken Energy. Two months later the company reported significant losses and by the end of that year the stock had dropped from $3 to $1.

Source: The Guardian

95. When asked at an April 2004 press conference to name a mistake he made during his presidency, Bush couldn't think of one.

Source: White House

SECRECY

96. The Bush Administration refuses to release twenty-seven pages of a Congressional report that reportedly detail the Saudi Arabian government's connections to the 9/11 hijackers.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

97. Last year the Bush Administration spent $6.5 billion creating 14 million new classified documents and securing old secrets--the highest level of spending in ten years.

Source: openthegovernment.org

98. The Bush Administration spent $120 classifying documents for every $1 it spent declassifying documents.

Source: openthegovernment.org

99. The Bush Administration has spent millions of dollars and defied numerous court orders to conceal from the public who participated in Vice President Cheney's 2001 energy task force.

Source: Washington Post

100. The Bush Administration--reversing years of bipartisan tradition--refuses to answer requests from Democratic members of Congress about how the White House is spending taxpayer money.

Source: Washington Post

OPINION

If the past informs the future, four more years of the Bush Administration will be a tragic period in the history of the United States and the world.

Personal Opinion: What kind of moron do you have to be to vote for Bush?!?