Sept 30th Debate

No contest! It was a terrific victory for Kerry! He was well spoken, he made his points clearly and with conviction, he spelled out Bush's mistakes and his (Kerry's) solutions, he was gracious, he concentrated on the issues, and made perfect sense at all times! Bush, on the other hand, was stuttering, obviously off-guard, interrupted repeatedly and simply said the same (untrue) things over and over and over and over and over and over and over and.......Damn, is everyone as sick of this "flip-flop" lie as I am?! Even though Kerry has made his position clear numerous times and it has always been the same and anyone who looks at his records can see that he has been ultra-consistent, still Bush continues with his "say it often enough - no matter how outrageous a lie it is - and people will believe it" stategy! I don't know if its working, but I would think that it will have to back fire if and/or when the public ever hears the facts about their records. Then it will be apparent that Bush has "flip-flopped" FAR more than Kerry ever has! In any case, Kerry did an amazing job and even the immediate polls reflected that. We will see what happens after the morning papers get their spin on things!

A terrific speech!

Here John Kerry spells it out in plain English - Bush's many mistakes, Kerry's plans to correct these mistakes. Anyone who says that Kerry does not have clear plans and goals for his presidency is just plain lying.

And this is somehow a bad thing?

Honest to god, this article actually appeared in the Sun, Sept 19 edition of the Las Vegas Review Journal:

“Republicans criticize Sen. John Kerry’s affinity for international cultures and
his pledge to make America ‘more respected in the world.’
‘I’ll continue to work will our allies and friends, but I will never turn over America’s national security decisions to leaders of other countries,’ President Bush said in a
speech here Tuesday.
Since Kerry has said he would never do that either, it was perhaps unfortunate that his campaign chose to launch its national veterans’ steering committee at the Paris hotel. In the Versailles ballroom. Where they served croissants.”

The paper even ran a photo of a croissant with the article!

Boggling! First of all, that Republicans think that a president should NOT have an affinity for international cultures and that we should NOT be more respected in the world! That would explain why they want Bush as president, since he could care less what any other country thinks of us.

Secondly, they quote Bush saying something that Kerry agrees with, but makes it sound like Kerry has done something to make it seem like he does not agree with this.

Thirdly, his choice of HOTEL and FOOD somehow means that he will “turn over …security decisions to leaders of other countries”!!!

I know I live in Las Vegas, but are all newspapers this ultra-conservative? Where is the “liberal media” that the conservatives always talk about?!

"You know, i just don't spend that much time on (bin Laden)"

Believe it or not, the above is a direct quote from Mr. Bush - the man who wants to convince you that he is fighting the war on terror and that he actually did something in retaliation to the attacks on 9/11/01. The truth is - from his own mouth - that he does not care about capturing bin Laden! And this is a "war president" that is fighting a "war on terror"? How about instead of some vague "war" and lots of promises, he actually does what he promised to do that September?
More & More of Mr. Bush's flip-flops

Lunatics running the asylum

Man, how many unbalanced people are there in Bush’s administration? I don’t even watch the news every night and I’ve seen so many instances that I’m incredulous! Just a few examples:

The man himself:
I don’t remember his exact words, but he has been saying something to the effect that people should not judge based on the words that the candidates say, but their records! This is truly amazing coming from this accomplished liar whose words say the opposite of his actions!

And what record is he talking about? His police record? His drug record? His record of ditching the service? His record deficit that he has created? The record low in new jobs? The record number of lives lost in Iraq? The record number of lies and cases of corruption in his administration?

Now he is also trying to stop organizations that are unrelated to the parties from running ads that are anti-Bush! Apparently, there has been over $50 million (!) raised by the American public to educate people about the job Bush has been doing! That shows a phenomenal amount of people who want this man out of office!

But, Bush is trying to compare these commercials, which speak of the facts of what he has “accomplished” in the last 4 years, with the lies that the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush tried to spread. If he was simply asking for “truth in advertising”, that would be fine, but he (apparently) doesn’t think that anyone should be able to say anything negative about him in commercials!

Cheney –
The gall of this man in unmitigated! To actually say that terrorists will attack us if we elect John Kerry is the lowest low ever spoken! Does anyone really, truly think that any terrorists would want John Kerry to win in November?! Bush is a perfect foil for them. They can predict exactly how he will act and he will end up doing their work for them! They already know that he will attack first and plan later and will simply go for the first easy target, rather than looking for the actual enemy. In doing so, he will alienate the UN and any allied countries that we have left, and he will cause even more countries to (rightfully) fear us and think that they could be the next country to be invaded and taken over for no reason!

John Kerry has made it clear that he will work to keep our country safe in the first place and make allies, not enemies around the world, and he will work in conjunction with others, rather than recklessly attacking on our own with no real strategy. Which reaction do you think the terrorists would prefer? Their goal is to make people think that we really are dominating aggressors who will attack without provocation, and Bush is just the person to prove them right!

Rumsfield –
Does the guy even know what he is saying? In his latest speech he repeatedly referenced bin Laden, but kept saying Saddam Hussein! I know that this administration is trying to convince the public that there is a connection between Iraq and Al Qaida, but wow! Or maybe he just doesn’t realize that we have captured Saddam?!

Zell Miller –
OK, this man was their keynote speaker and he ranted and raved with hate-filled rhetoric and out-and-out lies and then when someone asked him to clarify his speech, he challenged them to a duel!! I know that this man was the talk of the night, but the next day, there was no mention of him whatsoever in the local (Las Vegas) newspaper!

The conservatives go on about “liberal media” but I wish I could find any media that wasn’t so ultra conservative that it makes my skin crawl!

An Iraqi point of view

Wow - this is one of the most difficult blogs to read. In flawless English, this Iraqi woman tells of the horrors that is happening all around her. A must read for anyone who thinks that we are "helping" the Iraqi people.

Links

Here are links to a number of extremely informative and well-written (as opposed to my site!) sites/blogs:

http://www.democrats.org/blog/
- great site! Love the Top Ten Bush Flip Flops! Tons of terrific info!

http://www.gwbush04.com/ – lists his “accomplishments” while in office

Senator Kerry’s record:
http://kerry.senate.gov/bandwidth/issues/legislation.html#

Bush vs. Kerry on the issues!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4448630/

Amazingly researched and smart blog:
www.thetalentshow.org

A super, animated site:
www.brothercanyouspareajob.org

A ton of information!:
www.americanprogress.org

The title says it all!:
www.notbush.com

Unbelievable amount of lies revealed:
www.halliburtonwatch.org
Cheney's Flip-Flops:
www.halliburtonwatch.org/shareholder2004.html

Astonishing number of scary facts and figures re: Bush’s staff:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=154

Flip-Flops

Can anyone believe that Bush is still harping on this non-existent “talking point”? Do people really believe his blathering? I suppose he is using the advertisers’ tactics – repeat something often enough and people will believe it, despite what their senses (or common sense) tells them is true.

I have researched Kerry’s senate record and watched the news and gathered any info that I can, and the best that I can figure out is the only time Kerry has changed his mind on an issue is when he wasn’t given all the facts in the first place. Bush keeps going on & on about how Kerry voted for the war in Iraq, then against it – well, he voted for it because of the lies he was told by the Bush administration and when he found out the truth, he voted against it.

And he actually didn’t vote for war, but said that he wouldn’t oppose it after the weapons inspectors had done their jobs and with the approval of the UN.

I have looked at Kerry’s senate record and he is extremely consistent in the issues that he believes in and fights for – pro-small business, pro-armed forces, pro-gun control, pro-environment, pro-economy, pro-education, pro-women’s rights, pro-Vietnam vet, and in fact, everything that I’ve seen completely agrees with the issues that he discusses while running for president.

Unlike Bush, who says he wants things to improve for America, but has still not actually done anything that he said he would in 2000. Guess he needs 4 more years to do the things that he didn’t get around to doing in the last 4 years!

Senator Kerry’s record


For some REAL "flip-flops" check out this site
- great site! Love the Top Ten Bush Flip Flops! Tons of terrific info!

Also:
Cheny’s flip-flops on Halliburton:

Iraq

This is something that I can’t even believe that we’re debating! Bush lied from the beginning about Iraq. It’s been proven that one of the first things that he asked when he got into office was “how can I get Saddam Hussein?”.

Somehow he convinced the American public that Saddam was involved with Sept 11, despite no proof whatsoever. Yes, Saddam was a bad man and was a horrible dictator, and I’m sure eventually the Iraqi people will be better off without him (although, obviously, there are many, many, many better ways of removing a dictator than invading the country), but there are lots of evil dictators all over the world and we are not attacking their countries.

Bush ignored the UN, the weapons inspectors, and all proof and common sense, and told Saddam that we will attack unless he shows us his WMDs! Big surprise – he couldn’t do that, because, as he told us, he did not have any! This is like pulling a gun on an unarmed man, telling him you will shoot unless he hands over his gun and when he says he doesn’t have one, you pull your trigger!

Worst of all, Bush did not really plan out anything, and now we are embroiled in a continuing conflict, with no exit strategy and more and more people dying every day, and more and more billions of our dollars being spent every week.

So, apparently, our way of looking for the man responsible for the Sept 11 tragedy is by attacking a country that has no ties to this person whatsoever! Wonderful logic!

Now, even Cheney & Powell cannot distinguish between the truth and their long list of lies. One person says there is no connection between 9/11 and Iraq and the other says that there is a connection! Look, we all know the truth – just admit it! This administration would have a lot more respect if they would stop telling us obvious, bold-faced lies!

A sobering article on the continuing disaster in Iraq:

Just the Facts

THE ISSUES - what we really should be concerned with right now - not something that did or didn't happen 30 years ago, or whatever new lies anyone can come up with - just what has happened during the last 4 years and what we can expect for the next 4 years. These are the candidates' stances- verified by many sources. I don't even know how there can be any discussion!

Reproductive & Women’s Rights
Keeping abortion safe & legal
Opposes - Bush
Supports - Kerry
The Violence against Women Act
Opposes - Bush
Supports - Kerry

U.S. Economy
Raising the National Minimum Wage
Opposes - Bush
Supports - Kerry
Privatizing Social Security
Supports - Bush
Opposes - Kerry

Tax Breaks for the Rich
Additional tax cuts for corporations
Supports - Bush
Opposes - Kerry
Tax cuts for people making over $200,000
Supports - Bush
Opposes - Kerry

Religion & Government
Organized prayer in public school
Supports - Bush
Opposes - Kerry
Federal funding of religious charities
Supports - Bush
Opposes - Kerry

Environment
Oil drilling in the Artic Wildlife Refuge
Supports - Bush
Opposes - Kerry
Mandatory clean air emissions standards
Opposes - Bush
Supports - Kerry

Equal Rights
Amending the US Constitution to ban gay marriages
Supports - Bush
Opposes - Kerry
Civil Unions for gays and lesbians
Opposes - Bush
Supports - Kerry

Death Penalty
A National review of death penalty fairness
Opposes - Bush
Supports - Kerry

Firearms
Requiring manufacturers to have safety devices on all guns
Opposes - Bush
Supports - Kerry
Requiring background checks on gun show purchases
Opposes - Bush
Supports - Kerry

Education
Addition funding for higher education
Opposes - Bush
Supports - Kerry
Vouchers taking away funding from public schools for private and religious schools
Supports - Bush
Opposes - Kerry

Sept 11 once again

This is something that I have been thinking about and composing for a long time and I don't think I'll ever be able to say everything in the right fashion - I know that I am not a writer. But I'll try.... Seems appropriate to post it on the 3rd anniversary of this horrible tragedy.

OK, there has been so much talk about this subject at the RNC - does anyone think that Bush would have a chance in a million for "re"-election if this catastrophe hadn't happened? This sounds bad, but don't you truly think that Bush was grateful for this disaster? It gave people something else to think about besides the awful job he was doing in office up until then, gave him an excuse for everything he has done since then, and let him declare a "war on terror", which basically means that he can do and say anything he wants to anyone he wants and just call them a terrorist and everyone will be afraid to say anything about it.

The only bit of truth that Bush has spoken any time recently is when he said that we cannot win the war on terror. Of course, that contradicts everything he has said since 9/11/01, but it is the truth. There is no way to win a war on terror - that is like saying that we will defeat evil! It is just not possible. But it is a good catch phrase and excuses any and everything he does!

And what did he really do in response to this attack? He bravely and boldly took it upon himself to...invade a country that had nothing to do with it! Few people seem to recall that it was Osama bin Laden who claimed responsibility for 9/11, yet, since we couldn't find him right away, Bush decided to distract the US with a personal vendetta that he tried in vain to connect to the attacks.

Despite any proof or logic, he seemingly has managed to convince people that bin Laden and Iraq are somehow connected. It appears that Bush's entire campaign is based on Sept 11 and the "war on terror" and how he has made us "safer" and more "secure" in it's aftermath.

Well, let's see, we have continual "security alerts", we have a Patriot Act that has taken away numerous civil rights without doing much of anything else, we have lost over 1,000 soldiers in Iraq, we have alienated a good portion of the world, as well as the UN, we are feared and hated by more of the worldwide community than ever and even the president tells us that he is certain that we will be attacked on US soil again!

I don't know about you, but if that is evidence of a job well done, then I think we need someone else doing the job!

It's the end of the world as we know it...and i'm scared to death!

I don’t even know how to start this….I have never been so terrified for my country in my life.

I’m no youngster (tho I like to think I am!) – I’ve lived through the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war, the Vietnam war, riots for innumerable reasons, Nixon, Reagon, Desert Storm, Sept 11, etc etc etc. I honestly believe that the biggest threat and danger ever to the USA is George W. Bush and his cabinet.

This man has managed to take a country that had an enormous surplus, had allies all over the world, had a strong economy, was making positive headways into equal rights for everyone, education, environment, etc etc etc and turned it into a scared, fragile country that is feared and hated all over the world.

I have actually traveled overseas before and after Bush took office and he declared war on a country that did nothing to us, and I can vouch first hand for the differences in attitudes towards Americans.

We desperately need a change – we need someone who will bring a positive attitude to the White House, not someone whose entire presidency is based on hatred and fear. When I see the American people responding to out-and-out lies over & over I feel that I have to do SOMETHING.

I don’t know what I can do to really make a change, other than try to make information available to more people. I cannot understand how anyone who sees the facts can possibly want the country to continue on the course that it is on, so I can only hope that the followers just have not seen the facts.

The more I learn about John Kerry, the more I believe that he is a politician that is trying to make a difference. Looking at his record, he is extremely consistent (certainly not a flip-flopper! Don’t you hate that tired, over-used, untrue cliche?) and has always worked for the same issues that he is talking about in his campaign – security, the economy, equal rights, environment, etc etc. Unlike Mr. Bush, who has not fulfilled his 2000 campaign promises and we have no reason to believe that he will start now!

I will be listing facts that I have found and have collaborated by more than one source. There are so many great sites out there that are talking about this, as well, and I will list as many as I find!

I freely admit that I am not particularly original and that I probably won't say anything that hasn't been said many time, but we need to distribute as much true information as possible. Please research what is happening around us and unless you & your loved ones are happy with the way this country has changed over the last 4 years, please help us make a change!