AP is reporting that Dubya's National Guard record is "mysteriously" missing many important documents...

Read the whole story for more details on the documents that should be there, but aren't.

None of the 600 to 700 troops in Bush's unit in Alabama ever actually saw Bush report for duty there during the time he went missing (other than a dentist who gave him a check-up), and despite a $10,000 reward offered for the last year to anyone who can come forward to prove that Bush served, we don't have an "Alabama National Guard Vets for Truth" group out there to set the record straight.

We do, however, have some very clear hints, and even a Lt. Col. in the Guard as eye-witness as to what happened to those now-missing records. (See this mostly-ignored CNN story for details.) But without the a bunch of veterans willing to make television spots to the effect, the American media apparently doesn't feel it's worth reporting on. During a "time of war" when National Guardsmen are being called upon to serve unprecedented duty in Iraq, for a questionable war --- or "miscalculation" as Bush himself called it --- I strongly disagree.

...is right here! Now also available in RealPlayer and MPG formats! Please keep spreading the word!

7 US Troops killed yesterday by car bomb in Fallujah. 2 US Troops were killed yesterday and 16 injured in a mortar barrage in Baghdad.

The current total of US Troops now dead in Bush's "miscalculation": 990, as best as I am able to keep track.

Never mind the children that the U.S. has managed to kill and/or injure in the last 24 hours. I'll spare you the photos here. For now.

And in other "miscalculation" news, where at least we've "liberated" a country working towards Democracy (please Email me if you believe that, by the way, as I've got some nice land in Tikrit to sell you, if so!), it turns out the "Democracy" taking shape over there may not be so "Democratic" after all!

The interim "miscalculation" government in Iraq has now banned al-Jazeera permanently. Shoring up, I guess, their "Liberated" Freedom of the Press.

And as to their upcoming elections in January? Well, we may have to start putting quotes around the word "election" as well, as it is now becoming possible that these "elections" will be held at the exclusion of some major cities where the outcome of voting may not be quite as favorable as the U.S. and their "friends" in Iraq may like.

According to today's LA Times:

All of this information should be common knowledge to Americans during "war time" if we had a responsible media who were interested in giving us NEWS rather than SPIN and political horse races...Particularly since last month --- August --- was the bloodiest month so far in Iraq! Who knew?

So the "miscalculation" by the guy that wants you to re-"elect" him --- based on his sound judgement and resolute convictions --- continues. But unless you pay attention to folks like me, with blogs like this one, you'd have no idea. And, of course, that's just how George W. Bush would like it to continue.

So do something.

The war rages on. Pay no attention, please..."These aren't the droids you're looking for"...

According to McLaughlin:

Now go take on the day!

1,100 U.S. troops injured in Iraq during August alone! The bloodiest month yet for injuries to U.S. Servicemen and women!

Hooray! We've turned the corner! Vote Bush!

And just in case your favorite cable channel didn't bring you any war news today (or this week, or this month), here's a recap of what happened --- yesterday only --- in the Iraq War. Bet ya didn't know they shot down one of our helicopters yesterday, didja?!

Bring ‘em on: Two Fallujah Brigade members, two civilians killed in fighting with US troops near Fallujah.
Bring ‘em on: Two US soldiers wounded in patrol ambush near Tikrit.
Bring ‘em on: Seven insurgents killed, 25 wounded in heavy fighting with US troops near Tall Afar.
Bring ‘em on: Oil pipeline ablaze near Basra.
Bring ‘em on: Two US soldiers wounded in patrol ambush near Duluiyah.
Bring ‘em on: “Dozens” of Iraqis killed by car bomb at police academy in Kirkuk.
Bring ‘em on: Three Turkish hostages executed near Samarra.
Bring ‘em on: Seven insurgents killed, seven Iraqi soldiers wounded in fighting near Baghdad.
Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqi policeman kidnapped in Basra.
Bring ‘em on: Oil pipeline ablaze near Kirkuk.
Bring ‘em on: Green Zone mortared in Baghdad.
Bring ‘em on: US helicopter shot down near Tall Afar; two crewmen wounded.
Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqis killed in fighting with US troops near Ramadi.
Bring ‘em on: Associated Press driver assassinated near Baghdad.
Bring ‘em on: Bulgarian soldier wounded in patrol ambush near Karbala.

Courtesy of "Today in Iraq"

Now you get out there and have a great Labor Day Weekend, Mr. and Mrs. America!

Time for another campaign commercial from The BRAD BLOG! It's been too many month since our "Priceless" ad from months ago.

So please enjoy the all new "Anything to Win" video...

UPDATE: 9/5/04 10:15am PT - Hits are through the roof on the ad! About 100/minute over the last hour or so! Apologies if downloads, or the rest of the site is slowed down because of it! Please contact me if you are able to host the ad files on your server so I can make mirror sites available! Just send me the link addresses, and I'll get 'em posted! Thanks! - BF

UPDATE: 9/5/04 12:48pm PT - Had to take the ad temporarily down! Servers overwhelmed! If you can donate space (only 3.5mb or so are needed), PLEASE contact me ASAP at Brad.Friedman@cville.com! File is small, but downloads have been big and we need to spread out the bandwidth drain! Help appreciated! - BF!!!

UPDATE: 9/5/04 2:31pm PT - Ad back up and online! Thanks to John at the excellent AMERICABlog and the folks at nyc.IndyMedia.org! However, still seeking additional file/download sites to link to so that we don't overwhelm any one server! Please write if you can help!!!

UPDATE: 9/6/04 11:38am PT - Thanks to more generous folks, we now have MPG and RealPlayer Versions of the ad now available! Thanks to all who have helped! Keep spreading the word!

Mary Cheney, the "Vice-President's" own daughter was nowhere to be found in the "Family Portrait" shot at the end of the Republican National Convention. That's Dick, pictured at right after his speech at the RNC with all of his NON-GAY children and grandchildren accompanying him.

As you likely know, Mary is gay, and has a "longtime companion". Hence, apparently, she nor her partner are welcome on stage at a Republican National Convention.

Republican U.S. Senate Nominee for Illinois, Alan Keyes called her a "selfish hedonist" earlier in the day. But for the Bush/Cheney campaign who's willing to throw over their own family to appease the Jesus-Lovin' Hatists on the right it makes one wonder if they, in fact, are the selfish hedonists here.

Either way, so much for "Family Values" at the top of the Republican ticket. But the lip-service to it, like everything else they act like they stand for, goes on and on...

Last night's "Real Time with Bill Maher" was top-notch from top to bottom. If you have access to HBO, make an attempt to catch one of the reruns today and for the rest of the week. Howard Dean was worth the price of admission alone, but the whole show was great. Excellent panel. Good interview with Pat Buchanan. "New Rules" as sharp as ever. If I have time later, I'll try and post some of the highlights.

It's been nearly four years since Bush's invocation of "The Axis of Evil". During that time --- while we tackled (sorta) the non-threatening tinhorn dictatorship of Saddam --- the actually dangerous regimes of North Korea and Iran have been allowed to continue their atomic weapons programs virtually unabated. In regards to Iran specifically, we still have no formal policy 3 1/2 full years since they were declared part of that "Axis".

The reason for a lack of policy towards Iran seems to be explained by information emerging from the recent investigations of spying for Israeli interests at the top levels of the Defense Department and into the Vice-President's office.

It's all likely too wonky to have much of an effect on this Administration during an Election year, particularly as the damage will be controlled by skilled Republican "fixers" (see the abandoned Iran/Contra scandal for a good playbook example). And with both houses of Congress currently in GOP hands, it may be well assumed that there will be very limited policing of all these matters this year.

But it looks like the folks at the focus of the recent probes at the Pentagon may also be the same ones tied into other wonky scandals including the Valerie Plame leak investigation and the use in Bush's State of the Union address of discredited claims that Iraq was seeking uranium in Niger . It's "the whole ball of wax," as one U.S. official familiar with the case described it.

That would include folks in the offices of Douglas Feith and Donald Rumsfeld and even up into Dick Cheney's office. Folks with names like Wolfowitz, Perle, Wurmser and Rhode.

As I say, such wonkery is perhaps too much for Americans to wrap their brains around this year, especially with the predictable lack of help they'll get from the useless Mainstream Media. It's possible too, in my estimation, that confining and then dumping all of these scandals onto a single group of "bad apples" (sound familiar?) would be a convenient way to jettison all of these damaging scandals in one fell swoop should it get too hot in Bush Country between now and November.

Either way, it's worth keeping an eye on...

As I postulated previously, the Republicans have now officially thrown Zell overboard. He served his political usefulness to the party who will use anybody and, like a Reservist sent to die in Iraq, is no longer useful to the them. Sleep with the fishes, Zell.

Your Republican Party...

- Dishonoring the troops...

- Kicking the demonstrators...

- Rightwing BRAD BLOG commentor "ed", speaks of "wasting a bullet" on Ted Kennedy.

Compassionate conservatism at work. Great Americans, all.

And one last RNC "Great American of the Moment" Bonus pic!

An honest West Texan! I knew there had to be at least one out there!

Again, we hate to spoil the fiscal fantasies of the Fake Conservatives, but for all those "red" states out there who voted for Bush last time and calling for tax breaks, fiscal responsibility and decrying the "welfare state", you'd think they were subsidizing the "blue" states with all of their hard-earned tax dollars.

Turns out, as usual, the unreported truth is quite the opposite from the Fake Conservative fantasy.

In fact, the "blue" states, on average, get back less money than they pay out in federal taxes, while the "red" states receive more in federal funds than they put out. Go figure.

From Media Matters:

Is it any wonder then that "red" states want to keep their guy in office so they can keep sucking disproportionately off the Federal Government tit without anybody noticing? Red state welfare queens.

Once again, the "Liberal" Media seems to have forgotten to report much on all of this. I wonder if the Media really isn't so "Liberal" after all? But they must be! Sean Hannity wouldn't keep saying it if it wasn't true!