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John Kerry on The Daily Show was not bad like they made it out in Slate. For a much more even-handed review, see this article in the Washington Post.

Remember the “Boy who cried wolf”?

Article from the Washington Post: Pre-9/11 Acts Led To Alerts

More than half a dozen government officials interviewed yesterday, who declined to be identified because classified information is involved, said that most, if not all, of the information about the buildings seized by authorities in a raid in Pakistan last week was about three years old, and possibly older.

“It’s serious business,” Bush said. “I mean, we wouldn’t be, you know, contacting authorities at the local level unless something was real.”

New York Times: Reports That Led to Terror Alert Were Years Old, Officials Say

Much of the information that led the authorities to raise the terror alert at several large financial institutions in the New York City and Washington areas was three or four years old, intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Monday. They reported that they had not yet found concrete evidence that a terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way.

Remember also that the announcement of the capture of these latest Al-Qaeda suspects was delayed for a week so that it would have the maximum political impact.

When there really was a wolf at the door, no one believed the boy anymore…

‚ÄúThere’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.

-President Bush

Via Popdex I found this article written by Ron Reagan. I didn’t see his speech at the Democratic National Convention, except for the clip on The Daily Show which made it out to be a bit of a bore.

This article, however is an excellent, point-by-point disection of Bush’s presidency. If you can come with an open mind to this, it will give you some things to think about.

I just watched Barak Obama‘s speech at the convention. This man will be president someday. People talk about drinking the kool-aid. Watching his speech, you’ll be thirsting for the entire pitcher.

After the speech, as the crowd was going nuts. They panned up to Hilary:

Me: Hilary just found her running mate.
Sonja: Yeah

From the BBC: US may delay vote if attacked’

“The election is a necessity. We cannot have a free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forgo, or postpone, a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered us.”

-Abraham Lincoln

I got this in an email yesterday, I thought I would share:

It is very tough to be a Republican in 2004, because somehow, you have to believe concurrently that:

1. Jesus loves you, but shares your deep hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

2. The United States should get out of the United Nations, but our highest national priority is enforcing U. N. resolutions against Iraq.

3. “Standing Tall for America” means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India.

4. A woman can’t be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all humankind without regulation.

5. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you’re a conservative radio host. Then it’s an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans’ benefits and combat pay.

7. Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins, unless you someday run for governor of California as a Republican.

8. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won’t have sex.

9. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, but then demand their cooperation and money.

10. HMOs and insurance companies make profits and have the interest of the public at heart.

11. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

12. Global warming and tobacco’s link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

13. It is okay that the Bush family’s “Carlisle Group” has done millions of dollars of business with the Bin Laden family.

14. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him and Rumsfeld reassured him he was our buddy, a bad guy when Bush’s daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, but then a bad guy again when Bush junior needed a prop for his re-election campaign as the “war president.”

15. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying about WMD existence, to enlist support for an unprovoked, undeclared war and occupation, in which thousands of soldiers and civilians die, is, somehow, solid “defense” policy in a “War against Terrorism”.

16. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which should include “banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet”.

17. The public has a right to know about Hillary’s cattle trades, but George Bush’s Harken Oil stock trade should be sealed in his Daddy’s library, and is none of our business.

18. What Bill Clinton or John Kerry did in the 1960s was of vital national interest but what Bush did in the ’80s is irrelevant.

19. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a “spirit of international harmony”.

20. Affirmative Action is wrong, but it is OK for your Daddy and his friends (here and in Saudi Arabia) to get you to graduate from Yale without studying much, to dodge the draft in the Texas Air National Guard, to bail out your company Harken Oil and the Texas Rangers, to get the Governorship of Texas and then to have the Supreme Court appoint you President of the USA.

21. You are a conservative, but it is OK to spend like there is no tomorrow and run up deficits that your grandchildren will have to pay, while at the same refunding as much tax money as possible to your campaign supporters.

We just returned from the movie theatre, and the movie was excellent.

It has further cemented my views on Bush, Oil, Republicans, Iraq and the war. You could say I read a lot, and I think I am fairly well informed, so I was well aware of any trickery that Mr. Moore may have tried to pull. But you know what? All of what you have read has been a bunch of hot air. The video will speak for itself.

Basically, if you vote for Bush, do not tell me. I will have a hard time believing that you are sane. In the meantime leading up to the election, I will do everything I can to convince any repubicans in the house that for once, you must not vote for Bush.