Well, here at Kos there's probably very few Kosa Nostrans who haven't reached out to any/everyone they know who is an unregistered but potential Kerry voter.  But the registration deadline is drawing near and it's time to redouble our efforts (especially basking in the warm glow of the reviews of Kerry's performance last night).  

And so I just sent an email to everyone I know to reinforce the Kerry win last night and most importantly try to eke out a few more pro-Kerry voters in my state and the important swing states (email below the fold).  If you haven't already, you might consider doing the same thing!  Take a few sec's and borrow liberally from the following info. if ya want.

So I went to grab a cup of coffee from my fave coffee place this morning and, it being Thurs., reminded myself to pick up a copy of Seattle's favorite alternative newspaper -- the Stranger.  I got my coffee and went to pick up a new edition and just laughed hard.  Everyone in the little shop heard and looked over, then they began to laugh.  Here is the link to the front cover of today's new Stranger, and tell me it's not perfect...

http://www.thestranger.com/current/bigcover.html

Here is the link to AWOL's campaign website and I have to ask, is there any difference between the Stranger's front page and GWB's?

http://www.georgewbush.com

From Healing Iraq, a mostly pro-US intervention Iraqi blog, here's some news from someone on the ground there.  Oddly, the gravity of what this typically level headed Baghdadi writes doesn't seem to match how our media is reporting things:

"A coup d'etat is taking place in Iraq a the moment. Al-Shu'la, Al-Hurria, Thawra (Sadr city), and Kadhimiya (all Shi'ite neighbourhoods in Baghdad) have been declared liberated from occupation. Looting has already started at some places downtown, a friend of mine just returned from Sadun street and he says Al-Mahdi militiamen are breaking stores and clinics open and also at Tahrir square just across the river from the Green Zone. News from other cities in the south indicate that Sadr followers (tens of thousands of them) have taken over IP stations and governorate buildings in Kufa, Nassiriya, Ammara, Kut, and Basrah. Al-Jazeera says that policemen in these cities have sided with the Shia insurgents, which doesn't come as a surprise to me since a large portion of the police forces in these areas were recruited from Shi'ite militias and we have talked about that ages ago. And it looks like this move has been planned a long time ago."

And more:

http://healingiraq.blogspot.com/

I have often wondered about the Bush Administration's plans to invade Iraq.  With all the evidence piling up -- courtesy Dick Clarke, Paul O'Neill, Wes Clarke, Karen Kwiatkowski, not to mention the pre-WH writings of many key WH/Pentagon advisers --  there really isn't much doubt that from the first day of the Bush presidency Iraq was a target for invasion.  The question now is how was the WH going to get the American people to accept the invasion.

We know of course that the Mother of all Excuses, 9/11, fell right into their laps (sadly, like manna from heaven for the NeoCons).  But what if 9/11 had never happened?  What "Remember the Maine" event would the WH, Faux and NeoCon braintrust have used to gin up a conflict in a non-terrorized America?  

Well, here's an interesting tidbit I caught in the WaPo's Dana Priest's online chat today, which points us in the right direction.  A question was posed to her, asking about Operation Desert Badger (talk about an aptonym):

"In January, 2004, in responding to Paul O'Neill's book, President Bush said "we were busy dealing with Desert Badger". At the time, no one knew what he meant. It now seems that Desert Badger was a plan to escalate the no-fly zones into a full-on war on Iraq by provoking Saddam into shooting at our planes. What impact do you think this will have on the current discussion?

Dana Priest: I love this question. My answer is: It could potentially have an impact if I can find out much more about the operation. So---if there's anyone out there who can help, call (334-4490) or write (priestd@washpost.com). Thanks."

So there ya go.  You want a smoking gun for the admin's plans in Iraq, the answer "may" be to just find the answer to what is Operation Desert Badger.  Something tells me however, that those who know anything about this Operation are probably no longer "with us."

http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/04/r_nation_loebpriest033104.htm

Here's an interview with one soldier, a medical Corpsman freshly returned from Iraq, giving his perspective regarding how things are going and will continue to go in Iraq near-term.  It's a fascinating interview -- here's a small part:

"To what extent do you feel that U.S. soldiers in Iraq have the proper equipment for what they face there?

We were supposed to have bulletproof vests, where we actually put the plates inside our flak jackets. We never got those. The money had been paid for those things, but we never got them. My brother had to send me a flak jacket. There's all sorts of stuff that we had to buy on our own before we left. The types of canteens you need, water pouches that go on your back.

These were not provided, or not sufficiently?

Right. We were given canteens that you hold on your side, but the kind that hold a lot of water, you need them, too. It can get unbelievably hot over there and you need to drink a lot of water. Also, the pack doesn't work.

What's wrong with it?

It's top-heavy. All the weight sits above head level. It doesn't work. The weight should be set in the middle of your back, not above your neck. So you had to go out and buy another pack.

Why on earth didn't someone figure this out beforehand?

The military buys stuff from the cheapest dealer. We had to go out and buy boots. Not that the military boots are that bad, but they're not the greatest boots in the world for what you're going to be doing. And when you're going to spend hours and hours and hours in a pair of boots, you want something that's comfortable. So you have to go out and buy your own boots. To buy all of these things, of course, assumes that you or your family can afford to buy them, and a lot of recruits come from poor families.

Hot on the heels of the Bush campaign's ad blitz indicting Kerry for voting against the massive Iraq appropriation, here's more evidence of the many many soldiers who are underequipped for the daily realities of Iraq (where did all that money go?)

There's also an interesting revelation about the soldiers who participated in the Thanksgiving Day propaganda with the Prez., plus much more.  Very interesting little interview.  

http://www.interventionmag.com/cms/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=668

Most Northwesterners care a lot about the environment.  Once you've seen the brilliant blue of a crisp spring morning here it's tough to not be.

So it is with this in mind that I read with interest an interview with EPA Director Mike Leavitt in our local Seattle-PI.  Here is the summary:

1. Leavitt is well-versed in Bush-speak
2. Leavitt is no Christie Todd Whitman

Judge from this what you will.  But this interview, short as it is, illuminates the man.  Fave part:

"Leavitt feels the need for what he called "a clear and deliberate strategy to begin moving aggressively."

Huh? The EPA administrator fleshed out the thought by talking of "a large series of programs to achieve a voluntary reduction in greenhouse gases."

Well, that's certainly MY definition of aggressive--at least in terms of promoting global warming!

Here's the rest:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/163665_joel08.html  

Probably a lot of people here at Dkos already read some of the Iraqi blogs, but if you don't the following -- Riverbend -- is one of the best.  I'm posting Riverbend's recent update because it is rather chilling and gives an average Joe/Jane American a good idea what the average Joe/Jane Iraqi faces day in, day out...

Riverbend's blog

As I was watching MTP this morning my sister observed that Bush was sitting at an odd angle during the interview (pointed away from Russert, but neck craned to his right, towards R.).  She then said she thought AWOL might be wearing an earphone/earpiece in his unexposed right ear -- audio feed from somewhere -- and that accounted for the funny head angle.  

I find it hard to believe the WH would do this, but Bush is a fairly miserable communicator. Is it possible his communications team fixed him up with an earpiece to "manage" his dialogue while being interviewed?

OTOH, maybe they think his left side is his better side--dunno.

Another little tidbit from Marshall.

Justice dragged their feet and every other body part after CIA made a request to have the Plame leak investigaged.  This is something we already knew but Marshall posts CIA's actual letter to Justice (the one Ashcroft ignored for two months) and cryptically writes "much more to come."

Hope soon, Josh--

Marshall's Post w/CIA letter

I'm not sure if everyone else is still focused on the Plame leak (given so many Bush Admin. atrocities to choose from) but it's still high on my radar.  Here's an excellent update from John Dean (perfect!) about the status of the special prosecutor and what the House Dem's are doing about the sliming of Valerie Plame.  A little taste (with link below):

"The (NYT's) added that such cooperation "often results in agreement in the form of immunity pledges or plea deals that can provide prosecutors with additional evidence to use against other suspects." As I suggested in my prior column, I expect that this has happened, or soon will happen, in this case. For the evidence strongly suggests that a witness has emerged who knows what happened, and that witness is cooperating the government in exchange for immunity."

Read Me!

It's stories like this (WaPo-link below) that reinforce why someone can feel good about supporting Kerry -- he's a good man:

Thirty-five years after a rescue that earned him the Bronze Star and his third Purple Heart, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) interrupted campaigning Saturday for an unexpected reunion with the Green Beret he pulled from the murky waters of the Bay Hap River in Vietnam.

"I don't believe it," Kerry said to Jim Rassmann, squeezing the man's pink face in his hands. "It's amazing to see you."

WaPo article

From the All the Good We're Doing in Iraq Chronicles, an Iraqi mother writes:

I write to you in a very distressed state of mind and that may burst my emotions and passions because of the weighty calamity that struck me and my husband after losing our oldest son who was at the tender age of nineteen years....

On Saturday the 3rd of January 2004, my son and his cousin were travelling back to our residence in Samarra, they were driving a small cargo truck belonging to a third party from which they earn their livelihood in a country torn by wars and sanctions....

An American army patrol stood in their way, and after they went through the whole procedure of searching ... they tied them up both and led them to an area about three kilometres from the scene and... they ordered them to jump into the water, it was midnight and the cold was unbearable, when they hesitated, they were pushed by the soldiers. Unfortunately my boy cannot swim, even though swimming at this time of the year wouldn't have helped...

You can guess how this ends up.  Read the whole story here:

linked text

But at least we painted a few of their schools and got their electricty going for a little while...

To me, GW's kids are not interesting, but nonetheless there is something telling about the family, in a 90210 kinda way, when you read this WaPo article about the daughters' habits:

linked text  

I'm thinking back to a presidential address early this year to yet another memorable line by the president regarding the decadence of a previous administration--which remained nameless.  Funny how comments like these can come home to roost.

Of all the dumb things the administration does, this one seemed to reach the most people.  It's been over two months since the DOJ began its investigation of the Valerie Plame leak and nada yet.  As a result, I wrote a polite email to John Dion, who heads the investigation, to offer my feelings on the matter as a concerned citizen.  No response yet, and that's no surprise.  If you want to do the same, you can email him at the best address I could find (below).  I would love it if a million people regularly emailed the DOJ to "check in":

AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

Mr. John Dion
CRM Bldg.
Director, Counterespionage

Mr. Dion,

I am writing you as a concerned citizen regarding the Valerie Plame leak investigation.  You have been cited in several news articles as heading the investigation into the leak of Ms. Plame's occupation and identity by certain administration officials.  

The investigation has been ongoing for several months now with no resolution yet of any kind.  I have no experience regarding investigations and so don't pretend to know how long one should take, but understand from numerous articles on the subject that there were really very few people who had access to the information regarding Ms. Plame.  As such, it stands to reason it really shouldn't take months on end to come to some conclusion regarding the investigation.  

I have no doubts that you as a professional DOJ official are resolutely investigating this issue, which to me and many (most?) Americans was a serious affront to how a patriotic American should behave.  I also have no doubts that as a professional it would be incorrect behavior to release information uncovered in the process of conducting an investigation, until the matter is concluded.  Nonetheless, I am hopeful as a citizen that the inquiry will be resolved in short order--Ms. Plame and American justice deserve no less.

Regards,

Jsea

Given that Bush said after 9/11 that the terror war was thereafter what he was all about (what happened to that promise?), and given that Iraq is supposedly the key battleground in the war on terror, and given that he is sadly the Commander and Chief, should Captain AWOL stay in Iraq till the job is done and guide U.S. troops to victory?  After all, we're well in control over there and it shouldn't be long till the EvilDoers are vanquished...

Today Dean previewed how ineffective he will be over the next year at answering the charge that he essentially wriggled off the hook to escape military service in Vietnam.  On this matter, he looks weak.  Given that Democrats are already perceived as generally having less backbone than Republicans on matters of foreign affairs and military conflict, Dean will have an extremely hard time overcoming this issue in the runup to the general; he will even make Captain AWOL look good.  

Dean supporters don't want to think about this issue, but ask yourself this--is the guy who when asked about this issue today, after looking angry and perhaps a little embarassed, responded by saying "if it's an issue then it is..." really going to be compelling for swing voters in an age where National Security has become so important?

Okay, so these debates are getting under my skin a little bit. Teresa Heinz Kerry is right about overcrowding onstage, it's time to pare the number of participants down to a more reasonable number.  DNC, where are you!?  Carol Moseley Braun and Dennis Kucinich are the obvious first kills.  These people will not get the nomination, so why dilute attention from other campaigns?

It's time for the lions at the DNC to do a political darwin on some of these remaining lambs.  Survival of the fittest, kids...

Yesterday's question o' the day was "Since Shrub's policies have been so detrimental to the US war on terror, would Al Qaeda schedule an attack sometime next year to boost public opinion for the Bush regime if he/it were behind in the polls?"  A couple people responded that they weren't sure an attack would help Bush this time around.  Been pondering that and I'm not sure either way.  It may be that like most things these days, reaction would more or less split down party lines--a sad commentary on the state of the nation, imo.

Ok, new questions of the day, including weekend bonus!

1. If a lawsuit were initiated against Fox News claiming that it is not indeed a news organization, but instead a PR firm, would that suit have any traction?  The anti-pr from that would be interesting.  Wonder how competing news orgs would cover it, if at all?
2. If a lawsuit were filed against the Federal Govt. claiming that certain people should not pay Social Security tax today because anyone of a certain generation (say 40 or under) will never see a cent of what they pay (given the fiscal policies of past, but especially the current admin.), would that suit go anywhere?  (BTW, I wouldn't want people to stop paying into the system, but it would be an interesting way to perhaps attract people's attention to the fact that the SS trust fund is constantly raided, ahem, borrowed against, and that cumulative federal borrowing will someday soon make the sytem insolvent--to the Con's delight.)

Hope someone reads this cuz I'd like to get a reaction on it from some of you smarties...