Thursday, August 5 Issue #43

TODAY'S ACTION ALERTS
Tell Coke to stop using child labor on sugar plantations.

Let Aschroft know you want voter suppression stopped now.

Give Bush a piece of your mind.

Demand that the House Ethics Committee take up the complaint against bugman Tom Delay.

FEATURED ARTICLES
Bill Clinton warns us against destroying our forests the way Bush is doing.

Somebody owes Howard Dean an apology, says Joe Conasan.

Republican Alaskan Senator found to have leaked minor classified information in 2002.

Thursday NYTimes editorial smacks down Tom Ridge and the terror alert system.

Bruce Springsteen, appearing soon in a pro-Kerry concert, op-eds in the NYTimes this morning.

Flip-flopper in Chief called out by WaPo's Richard Cohen.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES
The WaPo argues with the Bush administration's deficit assertions.

The Onion satirically suggests Bush is a moron...at blogging.

Jane Roberts reminds us that, now days, women can't be spelled with a "W".

The Minnesota Star Tribune echoes WaPo concerns over the timing and politicizing of national terror alerts.

With Condi and Colin already in the game, Republicans look to Alan Keyes to take on Obama.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do."
-Bob Dylan

TODAY'S BUSHISM
"God loves you, and I love you. And you can count on both of us as a powerful message that people who wonder about their future can hear."
-March 3, 2004

BLOG OF THE DAY
Political State Report is a centralized American political blog which has correspondents in numerous states. Frequently the source of great campaign information from a first-hand perspective, several contributors have scores candidate interviews. Island Dave has been added to the roster, and will soon offer North Carolina posts on the site.

BLOGWORTHY
Digby takes a hard look at the atrocious abuse documented at Gitmo by the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Tax breaks for SUVs is the subject of a frustrating article from Kevin Drum.

At Wampum, Dwight Meredith takes a close look at Tom Ridge's political allegiance.

Jeff Leiber caught a great rebuttal to the RNC "Senate Record" charge in his dKos diary.

Billmon breaks out a tome on the Halliburton charges and Cheney's involvement.

The Mahablog breaks open tribal tendencies in politics.

DRUG WAR UPDATE
The forgotten war that has never been won.

See today's Claps for a Detroit success story.

LINK OF THE DAY
Electoral-Vote.com updates an electoral college estimate based on regular poll releases.

SITE OF THE DAY
I want to reintroduce everyone to Iron Blog, the blog debate forum. The site features a new battle each week, with four Iron Bloggers defending their honor, just like Iron Chef. Catch the rest of the Islam battle, with a new post each day this week.

COOL SITE OF THE DAY
Ever wondered if there was a library cat habitating a book center near you? The Library Cat Map from Iron Frog has the goods.

ONLINE VIDEO OF THE DAY
One of the funniest songs I've ever heard: "Keep Your Jesus Off My Penis, I'll Keep My Penis Off of You!" (may take a minute to load)

CLAPS, SLAPS, AND THE MIDDLE FINGER

Claps to Detroit voters for passing a measure decriminalizing medicinal marijuana possession. Patients, operating under the advice of a doctor, can possess up to 35 grams in the city and not be subject to local charges. Federal charges, as well as state laws, are still in effect, but nonetheless, this small step passed with a strong 60% vote. Hopefully, Detroit can climb out of some of the repressive urban conditions through more compassionate, progressive acts such as this.

A second Claps to King County Superior Court Judge William L. Downing for allowing same-sex unions.

Slaps to the Vietnam veterans who have bought television ad time to criticize John Kerry, calling his service into question. The morons, who are doing only harm to the image of servicemen, claim the Kerry could not be counted on, a claim directly countered by Kerry's superiors and crewmates. In fact, none of the critics ever served in Vietnam with Kerry, making any critique far less credible than those given by all but one crewmember. My father, a staunch Republican who distrusted Clinton, is a Vietnam vet, and he will likely be voting for Kerry this year. That tells me volumes about Kerry's service. My dad was in Nam for almost 10 years, often on those same Swift boats, and if he says Kerry did enough, what more do you need?

My Middle Finger fingers the Bush Administration for allowing outrageous patent protections to be used to quadruple the price of Norvir, a key AIDS drug. Abbott Laboratories, the drug dealer producer, raised prices of the drug last fall, claiming slowing sales made this necessary. Yet again, taxpayers give substantial funding to drug companies who then turn around and pillage the sick in order to squeak out an extra nickel. At what point does the public realize that we need a much more socialistic outlook on medicine if we want any equality? Capitalism always favors those who have money. It always disfavors those without. This continued gladhanding between pharmies and politicians is slowly destroying the health system in this country, and only a radical shift away from corporate priorities can restore fairness and integrity.

ANIMAL RIGHTS WATCH
PETA accuses Iams of using contractor which tortures animals.

Animal Law is growing as a specialty across the U.S.

West Virginia prosecutor fails to see torture in Pilgrim's Pride case.

CANDIDATE OF THE DAY
Mark Boles is running for a U.S. House seat from Pennsylvania's 18th district. A doctor by trade, he practiced pediatrics throughout the state. Boles served as a Navy Corpsman prior to entering medical school, and also went on to work at the NASA-owned Jet Propulsion laboratory. His Republican incumbent opponent has been a Bush bootstepper, and is one of many Republicans who spent taxpayer money to send out pro-Medicare bill fliers.

DAILY PHOTO
An "exemplorary" help file.


TODAY'S POLITICAL CARTOON



HISTORY LESSON
Lest anyone doubt that McCarthy could return, see exactly why "McCarthyism" is synonymous with "Witch Hunt".

STRANGE HAPPENINGS
When the cat's away...