Monday, August 2 Issue #41

TODAY'S ACTION ALERTS
Get your free Kerry Kit, while supplies last.

Vote in the WRAL news poll.

FEATURED ARTICLES
Ron Reagan makes a strong case against Bush. (thanks to Steve at ILTW for the link)

Journalist Josh Marshall posts a provocative teaser for his Washington Monthly article due out soon concerning Italian intelligence and the forged Niger documents.

The Post calls for fair-dealing on the black farmer assistance lawsuit.

Bob Herbert describes American lies politics.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES
Bush campaign demands journalist disclose race prior to covering event?!?!

Powell called in July to testify at Plame Grand Jury inquiry.

Republicans continue to hold up another much needed housing bill, despite strong House support.

Airline bailout will cost taxpayers billions more.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward."
-FDR

TODAY'S BUSHISM
"We want to reduce greenhouse gases. Ours is a large economy. We used to generate more wealth than we are today. And as a result, we do contribute greenhouse gases to the atmosphere."
-July 19, 2001

BLOG OF THE DAY
Congrats to andante from Collective Sigh for winning Tom Burka's contest at Opinions You Should Have. Collective Sigh is a fellow North Carolina-based blog, and you can find great political blogging from it's proprietor. Andante, who is a member of the infamous Liberal Coalition, offers a balanced blend of commentary, news coverage, photos, and rants to keep you coming back every day.

BLOGWORTHY
A female soldier offers a first-hand view of duty in Iraq. (thanks to Kate!)

POGGE gives us a Canadian perspective on Kerry's appeal to the voters while speaking at the Democratic Convention.

Mick at From the Trenches digs inside wage stagnation and the destination of corporate profits.

Billmon finds irony in this week's Republican whining campaign.

Mustang Bobby points to a Miami Herald article as solid proof of voter fraud in Florida...which was pretty much a given after 2000.

Green Voicemail takes a shot at Tom Ridge's color of the day.

Over at The Vast Dairy State Conspiracy, shw found an excellent quote from one of my favorite TV personalities...well...back when I watched TV, culinary scientist Alton Brown.

Finally, a new face to Blogworthy, Gillon from I Voted For George looks at Britain's statistical fallacies, and our on involvement in collateral damage.

DRUG WAR UPDATE
PATRIOT Act provisions being used to fight drugs instead of terrorists.

Drug war prevents police efforts from being used to stop violent crime.

LINK OF THE DAY
Its Rock, Paper, Saddam: A satirical pictoral of Saddam on trial.

SITE OF THE DAY
The Online Etymology Dictionary offers word origins and meanings from thousands of words.

COOL SITE OF THE DAY
This isn't really a site, its a song. One of the most unusual songs I've ever heard. William Shatner doing "Common People". Seriously.

ONLINE VIDEO OF THE DAY
Here is a Pittsburg news channel's reporting on the Heinz Kerry "shove it" incident, with the exchange caught on video.

CLAPS, SLAPS, AND THE MIDDLE FINGER

Claps to the ACLU for pulling out of a federal donation program in protest over Patriot Act provisions. The program allowed employees to donate money to various causes, and the ACLU alone stands to loose $500,000. However, sometimes wacky, sometimes nutty, the ACLU nonetheless is one of the few organizations willing to take a stand for personal liberties and private freedoms. Executive Director Anthony Romero called out Ashcroft's style of law enforcement, and raised a serious warning to other nonprofits about the over-zealous usage of Patriot provisions to conduct invasive searches of employee records. While there is no doubt we must work to prevent terrorism, we must not yield our most basic freedoms to support the cause. Otherwise, the terrorists win. Amazing how self-professed "protectors of liberty" are the very ones so eager to "protect" us by limiting our freedoms. More claps to the ACLU, whose balls sure do swing heavy occasionally.

Slaps to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for declaring an Alabama law banning the sale of sex toys legal. By a 2-1 margin, the court determined that sexual privacy was not protected by the Constitution or other laws. The decision was made because the majority members did not want to give legal precedence for overturning incest and prostitution laws. Not only is this a huge leap of logic, it completely ignores the affects in the other direction. Instead, this law establishes that sexual privacy rights can be usurped by state legislation in a way never before conceived. Under this precedent, any legislation can pass a law restricting sexual privacy with the backing of the Circuit Court's ruling. If not for the below disgusting situation, these two judges would each be getting 12" Middle Finger-shaped dildos straight up their arses...sans KY.

My Middle Finger to the Florida Republican Party for swearing by electronic voting machines, then strongly advising party members to utilize absentee ballots. Jeb Bush, as well other administration officials, have repeatedly claimed the voting machines were reliable and safe, but based on this report in the StPete paper, its pretty obvious the GOP has no trust in the machines. I really thought Florida had a chance this year to lead the way in electoral reform. Instead, Jeb and his cronies have continuously blocked progressive reforms which would have protected election integrity and assured all voters that the tallies would be accurate. Jeb might as well out his partisan agenda and admit publically that his actions are taken to prevent voter turnout, and ensure that results are just controversial enough to keep Florida in the red...just like the national budget.

ANIMAL RIGHTS WATCH
Animal advocacy degree will be offered at Duquesne University in Pittsburg.

Another NC animal shelter is operating with overcrowded kennels.

CANDIDATE OF THE DAY
Erskine Bowles is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by potential Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards. Bowles, who lost to Elizabeth Dole in 2002, served as President Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff from 1996-1998, taking only $1/year as salary for his position. The latest polls show Bowles with a 10-point lead over Republican Richard Burr. I met Bowles on Thursday, and was quite impressed with his charisma and genuine interest in talking to people. In fact, the campaign posted one of the pics I took on the front page of the website, and made a blog entry for additional pics.

DAILY PHOTO
Erskine Bowles and Island Dave in Morehead City, NC


TODAY'S POLITICAL CARTOON



HISTORY LESSON
Since I had to learn about Keynesian economic theory in Political Econ, so do you! Besides, that Say guy was a neo-con before it was insane to be a neo-con.